I don’t think there’s anything like Pinterest to get inspired to be a better baker, cook or interior decorator. Granted, most of my attempts to make pretty things aren’t even close to pin-worthy, but that doesn’t stop me from trying out one new recipe or DIY tutorial after another!

If you’re looking for ideas for early-childhood education or just fun projects to do with your kids, I don’t think there’s a better resource than Pinterest. One of my most recent obsessions has been creating homemade sensory tubs for toddlers and preschoolers.

Before I learned about Pinterest, it would have never crossed my mind to make one of these containers to use in my own home. Now, my admittedly uncrafty, mess-averse self is overflowing with ideas for various sensory tubs for new and fun experiences for Haiden and Piper!

Since I’m not really the creative type, I thought that creating a tub with a red theme for Valentine’s Day would be an easy way to jump into the project. I’ve had the idea to start making these tubs for a few months, so I picked up a few Christmas clearance items and visited Dollar Tree a few times last month with this project in mind. I also made some red pasta and rice as the “filler” for the tub. See my post on how to dye pasta and rice for instructions.

A closer look at the image above will show you that there’s nothing complicated or hard to find in the sensory tub I made. I started with a clear Rubbermaid storage box similar to this one to hold the contents. They’re priced around $6 both online and in stores like Target and Walmart. I think the box capacity should be between 12 and 30 quarts to allow enough room for exploration, but I also recommend use what you have and seeing if it works!

After I had the container in hand, making the sensory tub was easy. The biggest challenge (and it wasn’t much of a challenge at all!) was that I had to buy most of the items in multi-color packs, so I had to sort out all the red pompoms, pipe cleaners and other supplies! Here’s what’s included:

• Dyed red macaroni
• Dyed red rice
• Red pipe cleaners
• Red wooden craft sticks (sorted from a multipack purchased at a local dollar store)
• Red pom poms
• Red foam letters and numbers sorted from a Christmas multipack
• Red foam words and shapes sorted from a Christmas multipack
• Red twisty straws from a Dollar Tree multipack
• Red scrubbers from a sponge/dishwashing pack found at a dollar store
• Red gift bows
• Red plastic strips saved from toy packaging

Aside from an early-childhood class I brought Haiden to when he was an infant, this is both of my kids’ first experience with a sensory tub. It’s been really fun to see the different ways they play with it!

Piper, 2, will play with the sensory tub for a long time, and she’s really great about following my directions to keep the contents inside the tub. She doesn’t do a lot of “pretend” play, and she’s very happy sifting the rice and pasta through her fingers, scooping pieces up with the baby formula scoops I dropped in there, and picking through the foam pieces to find individual letters and numbers.

Haiden, 3, has a shorter attention span, and he’ll spend a few minutes pushing the contents around before moving onto another toy. If Piper continues to play with the tub, he’ll return to play with it for a few minutes, then switch to something else. If I sit down with him and provide some guided play ideas, he’ll stay focused on the tub for much longer.

Some guided play ideas that I’ve suggested include:

• Pushing the wooden paddles through the rice like a snowplow
• Putting the gift bows on any combination of contents for “presents”
• Standing up the pipe cleaners in a pile of rice and pasta, then blowing on them like candles on a birthday cake

After making this little tub I’m even more inspired and excited for future sensory tub ideas! I’m almost positive I’ll be working with a St. Patrick’s Day theme in March. If I do, you’ll definitely be seeing pictures of how I made the tub it and if my kiddos liked it!