Do you have a special Christmas memory from childhood? What about a memory associated with a favourite Christmas carol?
For me that memory is sitting in the school gym as a child singing “Silver Bells” surrounded by 200 other voices filled with excitement at the approach of the holidays. There was just something so magical about that song…I guess “in the air, there was a feeling of Christmas!”
That’s why, when I heard about a group of bloggers creating sensory bins to go along with a Christmas carol – I decided to create this awesome Silver Bells Sensory Bin for my son, Onetime. Check out the details of this fun sensory and fine-motor bin below!
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The Inspiration…
Just in case you haven’t heard this carol – check out the lyrics below, or hear Anne Murray sing it on YouTube!
Silver Bells Lyrics
City sidewalks busy sidewalks
Dressed in holiday style
In the air there is a feeling
of Christmas
Children laughing
People passing
Meeting smile after smile
And on every street corner you’ll hear
Silver bells (silver bells)
It’s Christmas time in the city
ring- a- ling (hear them ring)
soon it will be Christmas day
Strings of street lights
Even stop lights
Blink a bright red and green
As the shoppers rush
home with their treasures
Hear the snow crunch
See the kids bunch
This is Santa’s big scene
And above all this bustle
You’ll hear
Silver bells, (silver bells)
It’s Christmas time in the city
Ring-a-ling. (hear them ring)
Soon it will be Christmas day.
You can even download a Silver Bells ringtone here at:
Christmas Carols – Silver Bells Lyrics | MetroLyrics!
The Silver Bells Sensory Bin…
Okay – in the Christmassy mood now? Here’s how to make the bin…
Materials for the Silver Bells Sensory Bin:
- Assorted Size Jingle Bells, Silver
- Fake snow or white beans or white or blue coloured rice – we just re-used the rice from our Firefighter sensory bin (I keep all my coloured rice in Ziploc bags in a sealed container to re-use)
- Containers to pour rice into – we used empty Kleenex boxes painted to look like city buildings (again- reused from our Firefighter sensory bin!)
- Scoop and/or Tongs
- Optional: Silver or blue pipe cleaners for stringing bells
Setting Up the Bin…
Dump the rice/beans and bells into your bin of choice.
Add a couple containers and the scoop or tongs – or both like we did!
Watch your child scoop, fill, and pour…all while hearing a delightful silvery tinkling!
I actually enjoyed playing with my son with this bin for quite a while. He was so into it – and the auditory sensory experience was really enjoyable for both of us.
The ironic part is that although my favourite Christmas carol inspired this sensory bin, I haven’t played the song yet for Onetime! I guess I’ll add it to my long list of Christmas to-dos!
P.S. Although I provided silvery pipe cleaners to inspire Onetime to string the bells, he wasn’t interested the day I took these photos. However, over the next few days, he had lots of fun stringing and creating…and jingling!
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Today’s post is a part of the Christmas Carol Sensory Bin Blog Hop!
Click on the picture below to find other fun Christmas sensory bins inspired by Christmas carols!
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Will you give this a try? Do you have any questions? Let me know in the comments below. Your comments make my day!
And remember…“Soon it will be Christmas Day…!”
Love this carol and what a beautiful bin!
Thanks so much Victoria! We both had fun with it. Have a wonderful Christmas!
Oh I love this carol & your sensory bin! So much to explore, it looks beautiful ♥
Thanks for dropping by Catherine! Appreciate the positive feedback!
I love this song!! How gorgeous is the blue and white rice with the bells!!
Yes – I liked this rice so much – that’s why I saved it for nearly a year after we used it last at my son’s birthday party. I just keep all kinds of coloured rice in an old fridge in our basement until I can re-use it. Thanks for dropping by Colleen!
Love this bin! It would go perfectly with Frozen theme too! 🙂
True – I never thought of that Mihaela. I’ve got a son who’s too young to get into the whole Frozen craze – so it never crossed my mind. Thanks for dropping by!