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Are you the parent of a baby or a toddler? If so, you may be familiar with the concept of sensory play and sensory play activities. Basically, sensory play activities are any activities that help to stimulate your child’s senses and engage him or her with the world. They are a wonderful way to foster intelligence, creativity, language development, and social skills. And guess what? You can do many of them in plastic storage bins! Plastic totes make the perfect choice for sensory play tubs because they are cheap, portable, and easy to clean.

There are dozens of ideas for sensory tub activities for toddlers online. Here are just a few to get you started. You will probably come up with even more on your own. There are pretty much endless variations on all of these:

• Rainbow soap foam. For this activity, you just mix Dawn dish soap and water with food coloring in different colors of the rainbow. Liquid watercolors work just as well. You get the soap as sudsy as you can inside the shallow plastic bin, and then just let your child play with the bubbles.

• Tapioca beads. Children love water beads (those things you put in plant vases), but they also have a tendency to want to eat them. Tapioca beads are edible, and look almost just like water beads. You can dye them in rainbow colors and float them in water in a plastic tub for a fun sensory activity. Kids like the textures and colors of the beads, and also have fun watching the dye bleed into the water.

• Wet and dry. Very young children have a hard time grasping the difference between “wet” and “dry” textures. Get a couple plastic bins and pour oatmeal, cornmeal, or other substances in them. Let your child pour water into one of the bins to explore the difference between wet and dry.

• Cloud dough. This is one of the most popular sensory activities in existence. Cloud dough is easy to make and can be dyed in different colors. Children can mold it into shapes. It breaks easily into powder, and can then be reshaped.

• Fizzy cloud dough. For the child that loves playing with cloud dough, this one is a must. You make the cloud dough recipe, but you substitute in some baking soda. That way your child can add vinegar and watch as the acid and base react. This will give any kid a thrill!

• Letters and numbers. Fill a plastic tote with rice and then add in foam numbers and letters. Let kids play with the letters, numbers and rice, enjoying the textures. Help them spell out words and put numbers in order to teach about counting and language.

While sensory play activities are not something that every parent does, they are a wonderful way to stimulate your child’s development. They also show your child how involved you are, which can deepen your bond. A lot of parents find these activities pretty fun too!