Construction Trucks Sensory Bin – Pre-K Pages

Today, I’m really excited to share with you this Construction Sensory Bin that my daycare kids created and the creative process behind their creation.

Follow the Child’s Lead

Part of “following the child” in early childhood education is allowing the children to influence and change your plans into something they are more interested in. I originally planned for this to be a “Transportation Sensory Bin” but my kids had other plans.

Influenced by the construction crew next door, the kids quickly removed the trains and cars that I had set in the bin and requested “building tools.” I quickly obliged – the whole point in these play-based learning activities is to engage the children and teach them through play. The best way to do that is to engage them in activities they show interest in – and they were being pretty clear as to their interests!

How To Make This Construction Trucks Sensory Bin

Collaborating with the kids, my original sensory bin of different vehicles, traffic signs, and homemade felt roads was replaced with:

• black beans (glittery because they were from a previous Space-themed Sensory Bin)
• magnetic building blocks (to “construct” with)
• various child-safe construction tools like a plastic level.

Only the construction vehicles and road signs remained of my original bin – and that’s okay. Part of teaching children is being open to changes and encouraging them to work together to come up with creative ideas and solutions.

Construction Sensory Bin

This Construction Sensory Bin ended up coming out perfectly.

The beans were fun to scoop with the diggers, and we added in some measuring cups for fun. The level found many purposes – including a road, a ladder, and a measuring tape. The road signs were great for recognizing symbols and identifying shapes. And of course, the magnetic blocks were great for identifying shapes, exploring magnetism, and building interesting structures!

It was really fun to watch the kids take this sensory bin from one idea and completely transform it into something they were more interested in. I’m so glad they were confident enough to change something they didn’t like, rather than just get bored with the bin and ignore it. I think that’s a great life lesson which I hope they will take with them into other learning opportunities.

What do you think? Would your kids enjoy this Construction Sensory Bin?

BIO: Jennifer Tammy writes at Study at Home Mama where she shares hands-on learning activities, easy recipes, and parenting inspiration. She is a single mom of one, a trained psychologist, and Montessori-certified preschool owner. You can connect with her on Facebook, Pinterest, or Instagram.

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• Frog Sensory Bin for Preschool- Do your kids love hands-on sensory activities? Then they’ll love learning about frogs and pond life with this frog sensory bin. This sensory play experience is perfect for a pond theme in your preschool or kindergarten classroom.

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