Valentine Sensory Bin: Treasures from the Dollar Tree!

I know this is a little after the fact, but we are still going to be playing with some Valentine stuff next week, and it can always be saved for next year too! (That’s what Pinterest is for, right?) I present: a cheap and fun Valentine sensory bin! 

Yep, I found all this (and a few more things) at the Dollar Tree.

Cheap decorations too! There were glittery hearts to stick on the wall (the back is just plain white), and I also got some Valentine garlands to hang outside and in the room.

Look at these fun heart boxes! We always have a variety of containers on hand to practice opening and closing, and it’s fun to make them seasonal too.

But most of this was for our sensory bin. It was the first thing the toddlers noticed when they entered the room, and they made a beeline for it and quickly got down to the business of playing.

The toddlers caught on very quickly how to place the heart sticks in the salt-shaker holes. Just look at those fingers grasping and maneuvering! What fine motor skills!

They also enjoyed filling up trays with the little heart jewels and dumping them out again.

Some stirred up the little heart jewels in the heart dish with a heart stick. (Of course they all repeatedly said the word “heart.”)

The little heart containers were very popular as well! They loved opening and closing them, as well as placing the heart jewels inside.

We also shook them and listened to the sounds they made! The more hearts were inside, the louder it was, and the pretend rose petals didn't make any sound at all.

And they stuck the heart sticks through plastic colanders too (a previous Dollar Tree purchase).

Some pretend play is emerging for the first time among our little ones – they pronounced that this was a “cake” and proceeded to blow out the “candles”! I was amazed.

Reminder: always supervise young children when they are playing with small objects like this. My students are 22-29 months old and are past the mouthing stage, but still – stay safe!

All in all, we greatly enjoyed our Valentine sensory bin, and I hope you do too!

Check out more Valentine activities!