Forest Habitat Sensory Bin
I created this Forest Habitat Sensory Bin to go along with my older kids study of the 50 US States and Habitats (also known as Biomes) in Science. This bin focuses on the deciduous forest and coniferous forest biomes which are present in North America. This is a great way for toddler and preschoolers to have some science fun while learning alongside older homeschooled siblings.
Scented Homemade Sand
The main part of the bin was the scented homemade sand I used. You can see how to make homemade sand and then just add a little peppermint extract to get a pine forest smell to it. (note: a little bit will go a long way!)
Habitat Sensory Play for Young Learners
Deciduous Forest Habitat for Preschoolers
Next we added some North American Animals and North American Trees to our scented homemade sand. We added the deciduous trees (trees whose leaves change color in the fall) to one side along with the animals you would find in that habitat (or biome).
Coniferous Forest Sensory Play for Toddlers
Then we added the North American Animals and North American Trees that belong in the Coniferous Forest (always green and bearing cone seeds) biome next. I gave my toddler some mini marshmallows so she could make it snow.
Science Sensory Bin for Kids
If your kids want to build mountains that stick together out of the homemade sand just spray it with a little moisture and the homemade sand will stick together just like real sand. (Note: When the sand is wet if you have more than one color of sand the colors will blend.)
The Habitat Sensory Bin was a lot of fun for my young homeschoolers to explore and learn the same topic as my school aged kids from our Christian Kids Explore Biology Homeschool Science Curriculum.
NOTE: Habitat Adventure – Discovering the 8 Major Biomes of the World is a FREE printable Science Game that goes along with a habitat or biome study for older homeschoolers (K-6th grade.)
More Preschool Science
