Don't you just love watching little hands at work!? We recently stumbled upon this post from Carisa - amazing homeschool mom, curriculum creator, and blogger at 1+1+1=1 - and loved, not only the activity, but her premise that sensory bins can also be called 'imagination bins'!

You might have put that idea together years ago, and in truth, all you have to do is watch a child explore a sensory bin to see that very concept come to life, but we hadn't ever heard the idea verbalized and liked the idea of intentially adding imagination provoking items to your sensory bin play!

An Imagination Bin for Valentine's Day

Hearts, red, and pink were the chosen themes/elements of this gorgeous sensory bin! We love Carisa's suggestion to first raid your toy closet to find items that fit into the theme - i.e. a red ball, a pink block, foam alphabet letters, etc. From there, the craft closet is another good place to find items. Pom poms. Chenille stems. Foam hearts. Red glass gems. You'd be surprised at how the things you collect can take on a different purpose! And, of course, The Dollar Tree and Walmart's dollar section offer lots of great finds that won't break the bank - i.e. heart bracelets, heart shaped boxes, Valentine's Day themed containers, heart shaped erasers, etc.

Once your bin is stocked and ready for exploration, it's important to think about presentation and tools your kiddos might use in order to explore the contents of the bin. We love the sorting tray Carisa uses {pictured below}, allowing her kiddos to sort items into sets and count! And, while fingers are an exceptional tool for exploring and playing, it's always fun to have scoops, spoons, tongs, and tweezers as an option!

We could list all of the items in Carisa's bin, but we want you to check out her site! For the full content list, head on over to her original post - you can find it by clicking here! And, while you're there, stick around awhile! We are 100% certain that her site will become a fast favorite!