Purim Sensory Bin

Purim is only a few weeks away and we are all about bringing the Purim story and symbols into our everyday play! This Purim Sensory Bin is simple to create (especially if you have leftover rice from another sensory bin!) and is a wonderful way to get your littlest kids involved in learning about Purim!

What You’ll Need

• Plastic container, bin or box. I have a few bins I’ve bought from Dollar Tree, yay! I also reuse my bins for each of our sensory bin themes. Just put the contents of the old sensory bin into a ziploc bag for later use and use the bin for this holiday or theme!
• Large ziploc bag
• 3 cups rice (or whatever dry grain you have on hand. I used bulgar wheat for our Tu B’Shevat Sensory Bin and it worked wonderfully!)
• Food dye, in whatever colors you want. We wanted to do a rainbow theme (doesn’t Purim just shout bright colors?) so we used blue, green, and red.
• 2-3 tablespoons white vinegar
• Purim items: we used the Salt Dough Purim Symbols that we recently made, as well as some smooth colored stones because those are always a fun tactile experience. We also added our Purim Paper Doll Characters. These Purim Paper Doll Characters have so many opportunities for play! Other fun items would be crowns, groggers, Star of Davids.
• Measuring cups, funnels, spoons, anything that can make that rice move

Putting It Together

1.Dye your rice or other grain to set the sensory stage. In a large ziploc bag, add a few tablespoons vinegar and food coloring (as much as you need to get the color you desire) to 3 cups of rice (or whatever grain you use). Close the bag and shake shake shake. This is a great job for little helpers! They will love helping create the activity as well as move their bodies, and of course hear the fun sound the grain makes.

If you have colored rice or grain from another sensory bin, go ahead and use that! We had so much left over from my son’s Wild Kratt’s Birthday Party that I actually just added some more food coloring and vinegar to dye some of the colored rice we already had.

2. Once all the grain is dyed, spread out the grain on a sheet of foil or a baking sheet. Let dry for about an hour.

3. Once the grain is dry, pour it into your bin.

4. Add your Purim items and any other items you desire.

5. Start playing!

Finished and Loving It!

This Purim Sensory Bin was a huge hit with all three of my kids! The older ones still love getting their hands into the rice. That’s the main point of sensory bins–having that tactile and sensory experience. I really feel like it calms them down and helps regulate them. And they just plain enjoy it too!

They also loved that we used the special Salt Dough Purim Symbols that they made. Boy did they feel proud having those as part of the play! They quickly started talking about Purim and acting out the characters with the Purim Paper Doll Characters. I love when a learning experience is also such a fun time!

Baby Brother liked getting his hands in the mix. He moved around the the Purim symbols and even though he did not enter into play with them in the same higher level imaginary play the older two did, he’s being further exposed to these symbols and the language around them. Which again makes for an easy, fun learning experience.

We love sensory bins here, especially themed ones, and always find they are a fun and easy way to learn about the holidays!

Looking for fun ways to celebrate and teach about Purim? Check out our other Purim crafts and activities:

“Boo Haman!” Fine Motor Skills Activity

Purim Character Clothespin Dolls

Salt Dough Purim Symbols

Want more information about Purim? Check out the resources below. You can also follow my Purim board on Pinterest for lots of craft and activity ideas!

PJ Library’s Purim Page

Reform Judaism’s Purim Page

My Jewish Learning’s Purim Page

Bim Bam’s Purim Page

Love themed sensory bins? Check out our other themed sensory bins. We have so much fun with them!

Tu B’Shevat Sensory Bin

Tabletop Hanukkah Sensory Bin

Do you use sensory bins to tell holiday stories? What would you put in your Purim sensory bin?

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