Gardening Fun: My "G" Sensory Bin Inspired by "Tops and Bottoms"

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Hello friends! Today, I’m excited to share one of my latest sensory bin creations inspired by the delightful children’s book “Tops and Bottoms” by Janet Stevens. This garden-themed sensory bin is not only a fantastic way to introduce young readers to the concepts in the book, but it also serves as a hands-on, imaginative play experience that my kids absolutely adored and can be done with or without the book!

To start off, I set up a simple bean filled tray and some scoops and cups, and wooden boxes to work as raised flowerbeds.

Then I decided to make some air dry clay vegetables to serve as props for our sensory bin. I made some carrots, radishes, and other garden goodies, to go along with the book and the worked wonderfully well for gardening imaginative play sessions. If you’re interested in making your own, I filmed a quick video tutorial showing the process. Trust me; it’s quick, easy, and straightforward! You can watch it at the top of the post along with my other “Letter G” activities.

I loved how these clay veggies worked while we read “Tops and Bottoms” together. Each time the story mentioned a vegetable, we would grab the corresponding clay prop from the sensory bin and seeing my kids’ faces light up as they connected the characters to the garden props was a lot of fun.

To add a bit of structure to our garden, I included some wooden boxes that act as raised garden beds. These wooden boxes not only look adorable but also help separate different types of vegetables within our sensory bin. My little ones had a blast “planting” the clay veggies in the boxes, pretending to cultivate their very own vegetable garden.

This sensory bin has been such a hit in our home! Not only did my kids enjoy the tactile experience of the beans, but they also loved using the clay to make some of their own fruits and vegetables and it was the perfect way to reinforce the story and have fun at the same time.

If you’re looking for a way to combine literacy with sensory play, I highly recommend trying out a garden-themed sensory bin! It’s a fun, engaging way to connect books and hands-on activities. Plus, you can always customize the props to fit different stories or themes. So grab your clay, a tray, and some beans and get ready for a garden adventure! Happy digging!

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