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Wonderful Whale and Water-Bead Sensory Bin {Free Printables}

June 24, 2016 By Deb Chitwood 9 Comments

My 2½-year-old granddaughter, Zoey, has been in love with whales since she was a baby. So how could I not use my DIY sensory table to make a whale sensory bin this summer?! (Actually, this is also the “W is for wonderful whale and water-bead sensory bin,” part of the A-Z of Animals Series!)

Wonderful Whale and Water-Bead Sensory Bin

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links (at no cost to you).

Zoey’s love of whales started with Raffi’s Baby Beluga CD and then Baby Beluga (Raffi Songs to Read) Board Book. We went on to a few different whale activities, which Zoey loved. Recently, Zoey’s had lots of fun with the whale breaches fitness and counting game.

Wonderful Whale and Water-Bead Sensory Bin – YouTube Video

This is so cute! (Note: Zoey’s work with lifting the whale isn’t a traditional lesson of any kind. It’s entirely Zoey’s creation … and adorable.)

Whale and Water-Bead Sensory Bin (and DIY Sensory Table)

Whale and Water-Bead Sensory Table

Whale and Water-Bead Sensory Table

I already had my DIY sensory table. And I even used the water beads from my previous frog sensory bin! I had used distilled water in the frog sensory bin, which may have helped the water beads stay fresh. So I just rinsed them in a strainer and added fresh distilled water for the whale sensory bin.

Update: Water beads have been found to be dangerous for children, so I now recommend using tapioca pearls instead. They can be colored with food coloring to make the color you’d like. They’re totally non-toxic and edible, and they don’t cause life-threatening obstructions if swallowed.

Materials Used for Whale Sensory Bin

Whale and Water-Bead Sensory Bin

  • DIY sensory table (This has been AWESOME! It’s been very durable and the perfect container for our sensory bins. Of course, you can use a bin on the floor.)
  • 2 parts blue water beads to 1 part green water beads (Note: I used the ones from the frog sensory bin, so mine are a bit faded but still work great.)
  • Safari Ltd. Dolphins and Whales TOOB
  • Free Types of Whale Matching and Fact Cards (made into a book) from The Pinay Homeschooler
  • Parts of a Baleen Whale Cards (subscriber freebie made into a book) from Trillium Montessori
  • plastic tabletop easels for waterproof books
  • Arctic Sea photo, printed on 5×7 photo paper and laminated
  • Mountains and Icebergs of Antarctica photo, printed on 5×7 photo paper and laminated
  • Scotch Thermal Laminator with Laminating Pouches
  • binder rings
  • for toddlers, you could use large whales along with blue felt (or plain water) for the ocean to eliminate the small objects.

Feel free to adapt your sensory bin for your family.

Important: If you use this with a toddler, be aware that water beads are very dangerous for children who mouth objects. Even with children who don’t typically mouth objects, I prefer being extra careful with water beads. I put this sensory bin up out of reach whenever I’m not closely supervising Zoey’s work.

Arctic and Antarctic Whale Geography

Whale and Water-Bead Sensory Bin

Whale and Water-Bead Sensory Bin

I added photos to represent the Arctic (for the narwhal and beluga whale) and Antarctic (for the blue whale, humpback whale, killer whale, and sperm whale) with the gray whale somewhere in between. I told Zoey what the photos represented, but I didn’t emphasize them. The Arctic and Antarctic regions don’t make a lot of sense at Zoey’s age, so they’re mainly pretty pictures at this point. They would make a simple geography lesson for older preschoolers. For the photos and books, I printed out the pages, cut apart pages as needed, laminated the pages, and then left 1/4″ laminate edge to make the pages waterproof.

Types of Whales

Identifying and Matching Types of Whales

Identifying and Matching Types of Whales

I like to add at least one special hands-on learning activity using a printable to each sensory bin I prepare. Zoey LOVES handmade books. I used the free types of whale matching and fact cards from The Pinay Homeschooler to make a handmade types of whales book. I just printed it, cut the pages apart, and laminated and hole punched each page before binding the book with binder rings. Zoey enjoys matching the whales to the pictures in the book. I like having the facts readily available as needed.

Parts of a Whale

Touching the Killer Whale's Dorsal Fin

Touching the Killer Whale’s Dorsal Fin

The video doesn’t show all of Zoey’s work with parts of a whale. She used the Trillium Montessori parts of a baleen whale cards made into a book to identify and match parts of the killer whale.

Other Ideas for the Whale Sensory Bin

Having Fun with the Whale and Water-Bead Sensory Bin

Having Fun with the Whale and Water-Bead Sensory Bin

(Note: In case you’re wondering, Zoey’s outfit is from Gymboree.)

I typically leave out a sensory bin for a month or so before changing it to a different theme. During the month, I might switch some of the activities in the bin to add new learning activities and keep it fresh.

The whale and water-bead sensory bin is perfect for use indoors or outdoors. It can be used as a sensory bin, sensory table, or water table.

I’ll be publishing a whale pack for my July subscriber freebie. That will add extra printables to use for counting and phonics activities with the whales. (Note: If you subscribe to my weekly newsletter, you’ll have access to the current subscriber freebie as well as all past subscriber freebies.)






 

 

 
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Zoey always works with her sensory bins for long periods of time. This is already one of her favorites!

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A-Z of Animals SeriesA-Z of Animals Series

Check out the A-Z of Animals Series organized by Nadia from Teach Me Mommy for lots of animal crafts and learning activities. 🙂



 

 

Filed Under: Activities - Cultural, Unit Studies Tagged With: diy water table, Montessori, Montessori-inspired whale activities, preschooler, sensory bin, sensory bins, water table, whale activities, whale and water-bead sensory bin, whale sensory bin, whale unit

Previous Post: « FREE Snail Cutting Strips (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Nadia says

    June 24, 2016 at 4:25 am

    A wonderful sensory bin and learning activity indeed! Thanks for participating in the series!

    Reply
    • Deb Chitwood says

      June 24, 2016 at 7:07 am

      Thanks, Nadia. We’ve had so much fun with this! And thanks for all your work at organizing this fun series. 🙂 Deb

      Reply
  2. Ayelet says

    June 25, 2016 at 4:39 am

    Such a beautiful way to appeal to her interests and encourage learning through multi-sensory experiences! Thanks for this great post 🙂
    – Ayelet from Strength In Words

    Reply
    • Deb Chitwood says

      June 25, 2016 at 8:04 am

      Thanks for your sweet comment, Ayelet! Zoey has fun with this each day she visits my house. 🙂 Deb

      Reply
  3. The Little Tourist says

    June 27, 2016 at 7:19 am

    This is such a fun way to learn about water creatures! It’s sure to provide hours of quiet playtime. Stopping by from Practical Monday Link Up 🙂

    Reply
    • Deb Chitwood says

      June 27, 2016 at 8:08 am

      Thanks so much! My granddaughter definitely spends LOTS of time with it. 🙂 Deb

      Reply
  4. Vanessa says

    July 6, 2016 at 7:55 am

    Thanks for visiting “A Little Bird Told Me” Wednesday link party! You have been featured on Mama’s Happy Hive blog. 🙂 I love featuring your posts!

    Reply
  5. Marie says

    July 7, 2016 at 7:29 am

    Love this idea! Thank you for stopping by the Learn & Play Link Up. This post is featured on Christian Montessori Network this week!

    Reply

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