Tu B’Shevat Seven Species Sensory Bin Hunt and Match Activity

In our preparation, learning and review of Tu B’Shevat we’ve thus far mainly focused on trees and plants and celebrating and thanking them. But there’s another very important aspect of Tu B’Shevat and that is the seven species. Today we had fun exploring this part of Tu B’Shevat with a Tu B’Shevat Seven Species Sensory Bin Hunt and Match activity!

What You’ll Need

Tu B’Shevat Seven Species Sensory Bin Hunt and Match activity printable
Symbols of the Seven Species. I’ll share what I used below. But you can always print out a second copy of the Tu B’Shevat Seven Species Sensory Bin Hunt and Match activity and cut out the symbols and use those in the bin!
Flour
Barley
Olive oil
Small glass or plastic jar
Dried figs
Cotton Balls
Brown paint
Purple paint
Wooden balls
Green Paint
Mini faux pomegranates

Putting It Together

Print out Tu B’Shevat Seven Species Sensory Bin Hunt and Match activity sheet.
Set up the sensory bin with symbols that match the seven species on the Tu B’Shevat Seven Species Sensory Bin Hunt and Match activity sheet. We used: flour and barley sprinkled on the bottom of the bins as filler, olive oil in a small glass jar, real dried figs, cotton balls painted with brown and purple paint for the dates, purple wooden balls and green wooden balls for the grapes, and mini faux pomegranates.
Invite your children to first find, identify and match each of the seven species.
Once matched, they can play and explore as they wish!

Finished & Loving It!

During the Tu B’Shevat seder you eat each of the seven species: wheat, barley, dates, pomegranates, olives, grapes, and figs. In the Torah, Israel is described as “A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees and pomegranates; a land of olive oil and honey.” (Deut. 8:8). I want to make sure the kids learn about these seven species before the actual seder and this activity was the perfect way to introduce them to this concept this year. Yes, my kids need reminders each year of the symbols and important parts of each holiday, which is why we do so many fun activities to introduce, review, and explore aspects of our Jewish holidays!

The kids each had a hunt and match sheet and they first found each of the seven species. Some of them were more challenging than others—olives were in their olive oil form and the wheat was flour. It allowed us to discuss how these species are transformed into different types of foods and products people eat and use.

Once the learning aspect was finished, the kids went all hands in and had fun moving, molding, and playing!

Use what you have around the house to create your sensory bin. You can always print out images of the seven species (hint: print an additional copy of the activity sheet and cut out the symbols) and sprinkle those in the bin for the kids to find!