This is a cozy little world to crawl inside: a dark den with a tray of homemade soil and a colony of plastic minibeasts to dig for. Drape a sheet over a low table to make the cave, fill a shallow tray with crumbly “soil,” hide some bugs in it, and string up a few fairy lights for a magical underground glow. A child climbs in and the digging begins. It is part sensory bin, part den, and the combination is hard to beat. Ages 2 to 5.
Making the cave
You do not need to be any good at building dens for this, which is just as well, because I am not. The easiest way is to drape a large sheet or a duvet cover over a low table or a tray on a stand, leaving one side open as the entrance. A green or brown sheet sells the underground feel, but any sheet will do. Tape it in place if it keeps sliding, and leave enough room underneath for a child to sit.
A string of fairy lights inside turns it from a draped sheet into a proper cave. The little points of light in the dark are what make children want to stay in there, and they make the bug hunting feel like a real expedition.
The soil and the minibeasts
Inside the den, set a shallow tray of homemade soil. Crushed bran cereal mixed with a little rice gives a good crumbly, earthy texture, or you can use cocoa stirred through flour. Bury a collection of plastic bugs, beetles, and spiders through it so there is plenty to discover.
Add a few digging tools, scoops, tweezers, and small pots, so a child can dig the minibeasts out, sort them, and bury them again. Tweezers and tongs sneak in some fine motor work, while scooping and pouring the soil is the steady sensory part.
Into the cave
Once it is set up, the den does most of the work. A child crawls in, the world shrinks to a small lit-up space, and the digging and hunting can go on for a long time. The enclosed, dimly lit space is calming in a way an open tray is not, so this is a lovely one for a child who likes a quiet, contained spot to focus.
For another bug-themed sensory activity, our edible jelly worms hide wobbly worms in a tray of crushed “mud.” And for more creepy-crawlies to color, our free animal coloring pages have plenty of bugs and minibeasts.