Chickpeas makes the BEST sensory bin filler! And they are so ridiculously simple to make at home. We made ours below with “shimmery” acrylic paint, but you can also use any regular “matte” acrylic paint you may find. We also like chickpeas because there’s close to zero drying time involved.
Here’s the recipe we use for our sensory bins at LEKA Playland. What you need:
Giant bag of dried chickpeas. Some call them “Garbanzo Beans”, but it’s the same thing.
Acrylic paint. We like this shimmery one from Amazon and it comes in a variety of cool colors.
Hand sanitizer (yes — you read that right), only need a couple of squirts. This is just to dialute the paint slightly and make it dry faster.
1 gallon ziplock bag
Mix all of these things together in the zip lock bag. Once color is added, close the bag and “massage” the peas and make sure all of them are covered with paint. Once done, get a parchment paper and dump them on top, leave to dry. Stir occasionally so they don’t stick together. Done, easy-peasy!