Give preschoolers something to do with their hands and their attention can be held for hours. I’m serious. Every time I create a new sensory bin, I end up walking around aimlessly while my kiddos splash into the world of their imagination. What starts out as a simple nursery rhyme sensory bin turns into unicorn food for a trip to the volcano. It’s a little strange, but mostly a marvel. So, get ready to not know what to do with yourself with these nursery rhymes sensory bins for toddlers.
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Nursery Rhymes Lesson Plans
Peas Porridge
Nursery Rhymes Sensory Bins
Some like it in the pot nine days old?!? Is that really a thing?
I’m not even sure I would like it freshly stewed.
I’m talking about peas porridge.
But it is quite a catchy nursery rhyme and perfect for our tots to say over and over as they pretend to make peas porridge in the sensory bin.
To make this nursery rhymes sensory activity, just add dried split peas, carrot and onion vegetable counters, bowls, spoons, and a pot. And if you have them, adding the carrot Easter eggs was a hit for scooping and trying to hide that nasty soup from your mother.
(We used to feed all of our hockey puck steaks and sandpaper lamb chops to our dog under the table. Sorry, not sorry, Mom!)
Materials:
- sensory bin filled with dried split peas
- carrot & onion counters
- bowls & spoons
- pot
- carrot Easter eggs
- salt & pepper shakers
Itsy bitsy Spider Pipes
Water Sensory Bin
Water.
So simple, yet so captivating.
I know it because my girls ask to fill up their fish tanks, the beakers in the science kit, or the teacups in the play kitchen every single day.
And water’s such an easy way to make an inviting sensory bin. In this case, we added a little blue liquid watercolor, blue gems, and spiders to make an Itsy Bitsy Spider sensory bin.
Oh, and don’t forget those water spouts. I have used PVC pipes in the past with this activity, but I really wanted the girls to see the spiders slide down the pipes. You’ll never guess what they’re made of: lamination pouches rolled and taped up. Genius! And yes, I was giggling as the tiny spiders went down the tube. So awesome as one of our nursery rhymes sensory bins!
Materials:
- tub filled with water
- blue liquid watercolor
- blue gems
- plastic spiders
- droppers & tubes
Humpty Dumpty Experiment
Science Activity
Wait! We get to drop and smash eggs?!?
The second you bring out your faux brick wall (just a printout taped onto a box), the nursery rhyme of Humpty Dumpty begins to breathe life. But wait until you bring out the raw eggs.
Some will feel nervous about breaking eggs; some will be ready to Hulk Smash. But all of your students will all be glued to the fate of Humpty Dumpty.
First, gather the materials in clear plastic bags to see which one will best protect Humpty Dumpty: cotton balls, sticks, applesauce, yarn, water, and leaves. Depending on the quality of your bags, you may want to add some clear packing tape on the one with water.
Then, carefully tuck Humpty (aka the raw eggs) inside each material, predicting whether or not he will crack.
Finally, drop it like it’s hot off of that brick wall (recommended about 1.5 feet tall so that not all your eggs break like the first time we did this). To add even more cinematic thrills to this, say the beginning of Humpty Dumpty before you drop each bag. Draw a crack on the recording sheet if Humpty broke or leave the egg blank if he didn’t break.
You just can’t go wrong with this activity, even if all of the Humptys break.
Materials:
- Humpty Dumpty Experiment
- cardboard box
- 6 raw eggs
- plastic bags with zippers
- leaves
- yarn
- applesauce
- water
- sticks
- cotton balls
a-tisket, a-tasket basket
Weaving Fine Motor Activity
This next nursery rhymes song is stuck in my head! “A-tisket, a-tasket, a green and yellow basket.” Haha!
But that’s ok. That means my little ones have been singing it nonstop while we practice weaving green and yellow ribbons into our basket.
Nursery rhymes not only teach rhymes, they work on memory skills, as you can clearly see since we’ve been jamming out with the newest release of “A-Tisket.” Nursery rhymes also help our little ones build comprehension and vocabulary with short stories – all things that help lead to future reading success.
Materials:
- plastic basket
- green and yellow ribbon
Five currant Buns Play dough
Nursery Rhymes Sensory Activities
Don’t be fooled.
These currant buns almost look good enough to eat, but they’re actually made from play dough.
And if you haven’t heard the nursery rhyme to go along with this activity, it goes “Five currant buns in a baker’s shop. Big and round with a cherry on the top, Along came a boy/girl with a penny one day, Bought a currant bun and took it away.”
No matter how many currant buns the kiddos have baking during center time, they can count them all and sing along with the song.
To set up this play dough invitation, we used multi-colored play dough, heart beads, red applesauce caps as our cherries, and alphabet beads. We even added in the coins for them to act out the nursery rhyme even more. Such a fun way to learn through play!
Materials:
- silicone cupcake liners
- play dough
- heart beads
- red applesauce caps
- plastic coins
- letter beads
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There was a tired teacher who worked in a shoe. She had so many children she didn’t know what to do. Don’t be like her by searching for days and spending hours creating highly engaging nursery rhymes centers that your students will jump over the moon for. All of these nursery rhymes centers for preschool are included in this discounted bundle! Plus, you get your nursery rhymes lesson plans done for you (that include all of these nursery rhymes sensory bins), so you will know exactly what to do with all of your children. You might even get a nap with all of the time you will save.
