Water Bead Sensory Bin Color Matching Game

Today we broke out the water beads. It has been months since I took the time to fill a bin of beads, but I knew it was time for my wild boys to experience them again. So, last night, I filled the sensory bin full of water beads so they would be full this morning. I printed off our game, grabbed our supplies, and began to set the stage for our water bead sensory bin color matching game!

Preparing to Play the Game:

First, I printed off these color posters, and the matching sensory bin pictures. My favorite thing about these is that you can print them, and use them again and again and again. Make sure to laminate the pictures going in the water beads, because they will get wet. You can find them here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Color-PreschoolToddler-Packet-3625710?utm_source=littleowlacademy.com&utm_campaign=Water%20bead%20sensory%20bin%20color%20matching%20game%20blog%20post%20

Since I filled up the water beads last night, they were ready to go. But, if you’ve done water beads with littles before, you now you can’t just hand them the bin and let them go. You have to remind them how to use the water beads, what they can and cannot do, and for added protection, I like to add an old towel under the sensory bin so if water beads fall out they don’t fall on the floor as easily.

Playing the Game

The water bead sensory bin color sorting game is fairly simple. Place the small sensory bin pictures inside of the beads. They like to stick together when they get wet, so make sure to separate them all out. Then, lay out the large color posters all around the bin. (Notice the old towel, it’s going to help catch those run away beads!)

Pull out one small picture at a time. Practice saying what color it is and then match it to the color poster below. And, that’s it! It sounds simple, but my four year old and two year old loved it, and begged to play it again. The best part, my 2 year old learned how to say, “Yellow” for the first time!

Water Bead Sensory Bin Tips and Tricks

If you are new to water beads, here are some water bead sensory bin tips and tricks for you!

Place an old towel underneath your bin. This helps catch run away water beads. I have seen others use large flat bins to place underneath the bin, but in my opinion those are over priced and I don’t want to store something that large. So, an old towel works great!
If you fill the bin back up with water when you are finished, you can continue to use the same water beads for weeks to come. They do start to go moldy and yucky after a while though, so throw them away at that point.
It takes longer than you think for the water beads to fill up. Especially the larger water beads that I prefer to use. I strongly suggest filling them up when your children are asleep. Today, I covered the bin with the old towel and carried it down the stairs, making a dramatic exciting and surprising entrance for the water beads. They were thrilled to find out what was under the old towel!