Alphabet Sensory Bin for Playful Learning

Note: this post contains affiliate links. Qualifying purchases may earn commission.

How to Make an Alphabet Sensory Bin

We reused our materials from the Sift 'n' Spell spelling game to easily put together an activity that makes learning the alphabet fun.

Materials

Sensory material. Use rice, dried barley, macaroni pasta shapes, dried beans or lentils.

Container. This should be large enough to hold a multitude of letters.

Letters. What can you use for letters? If you have an alphabet puzzle, repurpose the pieces, otherwise, you can write the letters on small pieces of cardboard (a cereal box is perfect for this), or index cards (cut them in quarters).

We used small plastic letters like these and foam letters, but it's definitely not necessary to purchase any special materials.

MORE: Fun ABC activities for kids

Instructions

Teacher or Parent Input

While it's perfectly fine to allow your child to engage in supervised play using the letter sensory bin without your input, this is a good opportunity make observations that reinforce the concepts your child is learning.

Comments you can make include the following:

For children who are starting to spell or read:

What age is the alphabet sensory bin for?

Sensory bins with small objects like plastic letters are for ages 3 and up (children must have stopped putting items in their mouths).

It's easy to level up the bin for children starting to work on phonics, reading and spelling skills. Just make sure you include enough letters for word formation.

Even if your young children get carried away, don't avoid this activity because you are afraid of a mess!

9 More Alphabet Sensory Bin Ideas

It's easy to add variety to your sensory bins so that each time your child includes it in their learning play, it's a unique experience. Try one of the following ideas:

• Add numbers to the bin.

• Use both lowercase and uppercase letters.

• Add in surprises like small toy figurines.

• Use a large baking dish, and include a toy digger to dig for the letters. See how we made a digger bean tray here.

• Instead of a dried sensory material, use shaving cream or a bubble bath.

• Freeze letters in ice, like we did in our frozen word scramble.

• Use alphabet pieces from a wooden alphabet peg puzzle. After retrieving each piece, place in the correct spot on the puzzle. Your child will know he's found all the letters when the puzzle is complete!

• If you're not afraid of mess, try a Jell-O letter hunt!

• If your sensory material is fine enough, use a berry basket to sift through the material to find the letters. See how this works with sand as the sensory material.

MORE: Picture Books that Instill of Love of Word Play

First published 2010, updated 2023.