Have some fun this summer with a Watermelon Sensory Bin! - Pool Noodles & Pixie Dust

Watermelon Sensory Bin Ideas

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Sensory play is a big part of our homeschool. And, this week we put together a watermelon sensory bin that was so much fun!

Sensory bins are usually associated with preschool, and they are a great tool for play and learning during the preschool years. But at our house, we disregard any preconceived age ideas and play with them any chance we get.

They are a fabulous way to learn through play. Both of my kids do their best learning with hands-on activities. And, adding a sensory element helps to make it more engaging for them.

So, don’t think you have to skip sensory bins if you have older kids.

 

Watermelon Sensory Bin

Have some fun this summer with a Watermelon Sensory Bin! - Pool Noodles & Pixie Dust

 

Materials

  • Large Seeded Watermelon
  • Plastic bags (if you freeze or plan to store your watermelon)
  • Bin to put the watermelon pieces in
  • Small bowls, cups, spoons, and tongs etc.

 

I bought a huge seeded watermelon for this activity because I wanted to make sure that I had a lot of the seeds for my kiddos to play with. Then, I picked up a new bin to use for sensory play. We just use plastic tubs for our sensory bins because of our tiny living. We don’t have room for a sensory table or permanent bin of any kind anymore. But, even if you’re not full-time RV-ing, and are just short on space, I suggest trying a bin that can be stored away.

The key is making sure that the bin is easy to get to and easy to put away so that it will get utilized often. The one I have has wheels so that we can slide it easily in and out of our RV’s under storage. Things like rice and dry beans can be so heavy and carrying around a bin full of those items just isn’t very practical.

After I had picked out our bin we chose some new items to help us explore in it. We chose some small tongs that are great for fine motor skills. We also got some cheap, colorful bowls, small drinking cups, bowls, spoons, measuring cups, and some mini kitchen utensils.

 

Have some fun this summer with a Watermelon Sensory Bin! - Pool Noodles & Pixie Dust

Set-Up

Set-up for this watermelon sensory bin is a two-step process.

First, the watermelon has to be cut up and separated. This took longer than I wanted, but it always seems to take forever to cut up watermelon. At least this time it was serving a dual purpose.

Snacks as well as play time.

 

Have some fun this summer with a Watermelon Sensory Bin! - Pool Noodles & Pixie Dust

 

Second, I chose to freeze the watermelon, so we had to wait for that. It added an extra sensory element, but it was also practical because it’s been so hot that I didn’t want the watermelon to lose its shape quickly and just turn to mush. And, I did not want that sticky sensory bin in the house!

While cutting up the melon, I separated out as many of the seeds as I could stand to. So that, there would be a huge pile of them to play with inside the bin. I hoped they would play with and explore the seeds more if they were in one huge pile.

 

Have some fun this summer with a Watermelon Sensory Bin! - Pool Noodles & Pixie Dust

 

I saved the cut up rinds from one whole side. And, my son requested the other half to be left intact. He wanted to carve the rind and see what he could make. I had to carve out the watermelon from that side and it was more work, but who can say no to an excited 11-year-old when he’s only asking for watermelon rind?

Of course, he ended up chopping it to bits before I saw any carving. But he was happy, so I was too.

After cutting up the whole watermelon, I put it all into plastic bags, separated by rinds, flesh, and seeds and put it all in the freezer.

And, then we waited for it to freeze.

I recommend watching this a little closer than I did. It seemed to take awhile for it to freeze, but then I let it go too long. It ended up taking about two days. I actually had to let it thaw a little while before I could get it in the bin. I would suggest letting it partially freeze, but not fully. Maybe just overnight. We ended up with one bag of the watermelon that was a block of ice. Watermelon just has so much water in it.

My kids enjoyed the ice block as well though and used the rinds and utensils to chop at it, like watermelon ice sculpting.

 

Have some fun this summer with a Watermelon Sensory Bin! - Pool Noodles & Pixie Dust

 

Play Time!

Once the watermelon was in the bin, I put the seeds in a small bowl and added the rinds to one side of the bin. The triangle shaped end pieces turned out to be fabulous scoops.

 

Have some fun this summer with a Watermelon Sensory Bin! - Pool Noodles & Pixie Dust

 

The bin was a huge hit! They spent time excavating the remaining seeds out of the ice block with their rind pieces. They snacked on the frozen fruit and rubbed the seeds around in their hands.

My son was more interested in the destruction of any ice in the bin and eating as much as he could before his sister made it all into watermelon soup. But, that’s the other great thing about sensory bins; both my kids get what they need out of the one activity.

 

Extension Activities for a Watermelon Sensory Bin

Here are a few other ways to add to this activity.

Open up a few of the seeds and look inside them.

Watermelon seeds are slimy and slippery, so an adult should probably do this. But, kids always find it interesting to see what’s on the inside. Just like cutting into the watermelon, it’s going a step further and looking inside the watermelon’s seeds. Make sure you point out the tiny size of the seed and the huge size of the fruit that grows from it!

Plant a few watermelon seeds and see if anything grows.

We love to plant seeds from grocery store fruit. We’ve tried planting seeds from lemons, limes, apples, and avocados. We don’t always get things to grow, but the kids enjoy it.

Make a Parts-of-A-Watermelon Model

While playing in your watermelon sensory bin have your child find and organize the parts of the fruit. A piece of the rind, a chunk of flesh, and a few seeds. Then reconstruct a slice of watermelon by fitting the pieces back together.

 

Have fun playing with your food this week! We sure did;)

If you liked this post… check out:

Watermelon Sensory Tray (Super simple with dyed rice & beans!)

Watermelon Counting Cards 0-10

 

https://www.pinterest.com/poolnoodlespixiedust/sensory-play/

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Hi, I'm Heidi a Jesus-loving homeschool Mama traveling the country with my full time RVing family. I'm passionate about simplifying your homeschool or classroom days by providing quality resources and support.