Your toddlers and preschoolers will love fishing for numbers in this super simple water and number sensory bin activity.
If you have a hyperlexic child, then you likely already know that alphabet magnets are one of their most prized possessions. And if you have a child who has hypernumeracy as well, then you know it's all about the numbers for them.
Now toss those favorite toys of theirs into a simple sensory bin and they'll be happy campers. Trust me, they'll love pretty much any kind of activity that incorporates their interests in some way. Guaranteed.
Case in point is this number sensory bin with water. Both of my boys loved it!
This activity is basically a math twist on this magnet play and water sensory bin. But instead of colorful round magnets, this time we used number magnets. It only takes seconds to set up this activity. So let's get started, shall we?
Super Simple Water Math & Number Sensory Bin: What You'll Need
This easy math sensory bin is tons of fun and requires zero prep to set up. Win win for you as a parent and for them as kids. Here's what we used for this activity:
- Water - All the best sensory bin ideas start with water
- Plastic number magnets - We actually used mini ones that we found at the dollar store. Regular sized ones will work just great too!
- Magnetic fishing wands from Melissa & Doug Magnetic Puzzles - You could also just use regular magnet wands instead. Basically, you just need something that will allow kids to fish for numbers in this sensory bin.
Add the water and number magnets to your favorite sensory bin container. Then set out your magnetic fishing wands. And that's it for set up!
Time to Play with this Numbers Sensory Bin!
My youngest son K was really into the fishing aspect, spending a lot of time picking up the different numbers. He would identify the numbers then pluck them off the magnet wand. Then he'd repeat. Over and over.
You could also turn this into a number hunt math sensory bin game. Simply call out a number and have your child find that number and fish it out.
One thing to note is that our magnetic number set included math symbols like an equals sign, a division sign, etc. So I wasn't too surprised that my older son J was more into creating math sentences and answering them instead of just fishing for numbers. Especially given his hypernumeracy. The kid just has to do math all day long. It's kind of his thing.
J also enjoyed lining up the numbers to create some giant numbers. It may have something to do with the fact that he has been reading a book called Millions, Billions, & Trillions: Understanding Big Numbers all week. Or it could simply just be due to his love for numbers. Either way, he was loving this numbers sensory bin. As I knew he would.
I really like how both of my boys approached this number sensory bin with water in different ways. One focused on the the fine motor aspect and number identification. The other preferred to create some math sentences and giant numbers.
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