We are full on a quiet time kick over here. I feel like it is such a blast from the past! It has been almost six years since I have needed to teach one of my little ones about quiet time, but with my littlest just giving up naptime it is time to teach her the ropes.

A few days ago I shared with you this month’s freebie – Quiet Time Bin Labels. In that post I shared a bunch of information with you about Quiet time, quiet time bins, and a video all about how to set up a rhythm in your home. You can check out that post here: Quiet Time Bin Labels (the original post).

Now I recognize at first glance these seem cute but very basic, so I wanted to show you just how AWESOME they truly are.

Typically we do 3 quiet bins per week, but for the sake of these new quiet bin labels I opted to fill up all 8 quiet bins to share with you.

Guess what? Filling all 8 quiet bins AND taking pretty pictures of them took me about 20 minutes on a Saturday afternoon. That’s it! Know why it was so quick? BECAUSE OF THE QUIET BIN LABELS!

I knew exactly the theme that would go in each bin, so I just needed to think of one idea to match each theme. So easy.

I thought I would share with you the 8 ways we filled our quiet bins for this week. But just before I do, be sure to grab your free quiet bin labels right here!

Here are our first fillers to go with our quiet bin labels:

Numbers 

In this quiet bin I decided to use a pack of cards. I picked out some of the number cards and then looked around for some clothespins. I know we have clothespins as I had recently bought them AND used them in an activity just last week. But I could not find them for the life of me! (Well, I really didn’t look all that hard … but they weren’t on the counter where I thought they were) So instead I popped some elastics in this bin. I figure my little ones can recognize the number and pop the correct number of elastics around each playing card. I love cards like this because if children don’t recognize the number they can simply count the symbols on the card. 

Building

I have got to say – this theme is my favourite! So easy to fill. In order to keep this bin special I am going to put away the other magnatiles for the week. I have found that pulling these quiet bins out just for quiet time helps my little ones really engage in these special activities. This week I just filled this little guy up with magnatiles. Legos, wooden blocks, paper cups, playing cards – gosh! I just planned this bin 2 months out! LOVE IT!

Fine Motor

In the fine motor themed quiet time bin I popped in some rocks and shells. I tend to keep things like this on hand in a big bin in the closet so I can easily find some fun fillers to pop in these bins. I also grabbed a few paper plates and drew on some silly faces. I thought my kids might like to use the rocks and shells to trace over the lines for the eyes, nose, and mouth. I also put in some blank paper plates so they could create their own faces.

Playdough

Please don’t mind the colour of that playdough in that photo there. I really should have whipped up a fresh batch for this photo shoot (I even have a recipe that only takes 3 minutes – you can find that right here!), but figured it best to keep things real. THIS is what our playdough currently looks like. Mixed and mashed to a lovely greenish brown. I added in some buttons so prints could be made and button towers could be constructed as well.

Loose Parts

(Truthful edit: I mixed up the labels. This was supposed to be the ‘fine motor bin’ and the fine motor bin was supposed to be this one.) In this bin I popped an egg carton and some cotton balls. I was going to use pompoms so it was more colourful and appealing to little ones, but I didn’t have any on hand. So I also popped in a few colourful buttons to brighten things up! I thought my kids would have a great time sorting the various materials by using tweezers. I mean, tweezers make everything more fun (and they are awesome for strengthening little hands too)

Imaginative Play

This bin is certainly going to be a favourite of my toddlers. I popped a few horsies (ahem … horses), little people, and a bunch of popsicle sticks. I can see her creating little pens for her animals and even using those popsicle sticks as hay. Imaginative bins like this can stay so nice and simple. Often, the more simple the materials, the more deeply children will engage in play.

Crafting

This crafting bin has been around for a month! It is definitely a hit with my toddler. I simply have some thin strips of paper and safety scissors so she can practice her cutting skills. Recently I added in some more paper and glue stick so those little bits of paper confetti can be glued down to create some beautiful masterpieces. 

Letters

In the letter themed quiet bin I decided we would do a beginning letter sort. This one is just for show – a suggestion for you – I have one little one too young for this activity, and others too old. BUT, if you should happen to have a little one practicing letters, this is a great quiet bin to try out! Take a visit to the junk drawer and pop a whole bunch of interesting little trinkets into the bin. Then have a look at them as you write their beginning letters in an egg carton. Let the toy sorting begin!

Can you see how these handy little Quiet Bin Labels really help to get you organized and make quiet time bins a breeze? Be sure to grab your free labels right here!

And if you are new to quiet time … or a quiet time master … you are going to LOVE my quiet time bundle! In this bundle you receive

1. All the quiet time tips and step by step instructions to make quiet time WORK in your home
2. my 2 quiet time eBooks filled with activities and advice to get you started
3. A whole year in the Quiet Time Club where you receive emails from me with ‘refill’ ideas just like the ones in this post!

Check out the Quiet Time Bundle right HERE (P.S. It is currently on an 80% off sale!)

Thank you so much for reading!

xo

Sarah