If you’re struggling to keep your little ones busy while you work, don’t worry, I have a way to keep them busy and challenged without handing over an iPad or turning on the TV. All three of our kids LOVE sensory bins!

A sensory bin is a Play Present that focuses on activating multiple senses at once. Most use seeing, hearing, smelling, and feeling. You can even make edible sensory bins that use tasting! They’re important because kids learn through their senses and older kids destress with sensory activities.

Five easy steps to set one up:

1.  Find A Location  Sensory bins can be messy if you don’t prepare. Find a spot outdoors with a kid-sized table or soft space to sit. Grab towels and a bucket with water for easy cleanup. If you’re inside, lay down a sheet, oilcloth or tablecloth (we love the flannel backed vinyl ones). Afterward, you can gather up the sheet and pour any spills back into the bin or shake it out or wash it. Keep...

 Do you know what invitations to play are?

If you're looking for ways to keep your kids happily playing on their own while you work near them, you need to know about invitations to play. They're used in a lot of preschools and early childhood classrooms to get the kids interested in activities. Why wouldn't we use them at home, too?

An invitation to play setup is arranging the environment so kids want to explore, discover, investigate, and play. It's designed to spark kids' curiosity to play. It's a way to get the play started.

By taking a few toys or materials and arranging them together in beautiful ways at home, I call these invitations Play Presents. We set them up because they help the long days pass more quickly, they ease transition time, and they allow us to keep the kids off the screens. They'll naturally play with their toys for a while, but by adding play presents, it allows them to play even longer, and more independently.

Here's how to get started using Play...