Looking for fun ideas for exploring magnets with preschoolers and toddlers? Then try this colorful magnet sensory bin with rainbow dyed chickpeas. Your kids are going to love it!
One of my all time favorite creations ever on this blog is the rainbow dyed chickpeas. They are seriously the best sensory bin filler ever. Way better than rainbow rice, which gets everywhere. They're also quick to make and they last forever. Most importantly, the kids love to play with them!
They're also fantastic for hiding other colorful objects in, which is what I did here for this magnet sensory bin.
See, it all started when I found some horseshoe magnets at The Dollar Tree. I was super excited to find them for only $1.25 each. I knew I couldn't pass them up given how much my kids like to play with magnets. I mean they loooove magnets. I also thought that these magnets would be fun to use as part of a sensory activity too.
So I grabbed our dyed chickpeas and added some magnetic items, as well as our new horseshoe magnets, to a bin. The result? This glorious little activity! I mean just look at how pretty this sensory bin is. How could you not want to play in it?
Rainbow Magnet Sensory Bin: What You'll Need
Okay are you ready to whip up this super quick magnetic sensory bin? Well, here's what you'll need:
- Magnetic transparent counters or whatever other magnetic items you might have at home - You could use alphabet magnets, for example, especially if you're trying to get some better buy-in from your hyperlexic kid
- DIY rainbow dyed chickpeas - Only the best sensory bin filler ever, in my opinion
- Magnet wands and/or horseshoe magnets - Use what you've got on hand
Simply add the chickpeas and the magnetic transparent counters to a large plastic container. Be sure to swish it around a few times too. That way some of the little magnet discs will be buried. Doing so ends up turning this activity into a magnetic treasure hunt sensory bin of sorts.
Then add some magnet wands and/or horseshoe magnets and let the kids do some magnet exploration! I can almost guarantee that your toddler or preschooler is going to have fun with this idea.
Your Kids are Going to Love this Magnet Activity!
My oldest J laid claim to the blue horseshoe magnet and quickly started searching for the rainbow counters. Instead of using the magnet to pick them up, he preferred to pick out the counters one-by-one by hand. Then he would stick them to the magnet.
My youngest K, on the other hand, preferred to drag his red horseshoe magnet through the chickpeas. I guess he wanted to see how many he could pick up using this method or something. But it was sort of like a game. Basically, drag the magnet and see how many magnets you collect. Then remove the magnets, try again, and see if you pick up less or more the next time around.
And speaking of removing the magnetic counters, pulling them off of the magnet wands is great for fine motor skills practice. Or you could turn it into a counting activity by counting each counter you remove from the magnet. Math, science, sensory, fine motor...that's a lot of skills that can be worked on here!
I really love how this magnet sensory bin turned out. It's so bright and colorful! And just plain fun. My kids had a blast with it!
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