…You can only imagine how the ending would go in a house full of boys 😉 I have had this “bucket of beans” for at least 4 years (I’m building their immunities too…don’t judge). It was easy to make, easy to store, relatively cheap, and has provided countless hours of entertainment. My almost 7 year-old will still play with it…and the little boys obviously love it (however, if you have a little one who still puts things in his mouth, please don’t let him choke!). I don’t LOVE cleaning up the beans that inevitably spill out, but I put the bucket on beach towels so that I can pour most back in when they’re done, and in the end, the cleanup time is well worth the amount of playing time that I get out of it!
I love sensory play and used to do a MUCH better job of mixing it up when I only had one kiddo – can’t imagine why 😉 I have used this as a go-to activity when I need to mix up our daily routine, when it’s raining outside, or I just need a little chunk of time when they can occupy themselves (like to make dinner). I bought an easy-to-store plastic tub & lid at Target – mine is bigger than a shoe box, but smaller than a sweater storage container – and filled it with dried beans. You can easily find different types of beans at Target (one-stop shopping makes this even easier) and right now would be a great time to find some beach toys to add to the bucket. We like shovels, spoons, measuring cups, plastic cups, and little objects from around the house that we use to bury in the beans. I just store the toys in the bucket so that it’s easy to pack up and get back out when we need it. Maybe this could occupy some spare time for your littles this summer too!