Fall is the perfect season to dive into sensory-based activities that are as fun as they are enriching. The weather is getting cooler, the leaves are getting crunchier, and the colors are changing all around us. As you transition to indoor play, here are a few creative sensory activities that will get your child excited about the season while fostering their development through hands-on exploration!
Halloween Sensory Bin
If you and your child little one wants to celebrate the spooky season with some sensory fun, give our Halloween-theme sensory bin a try! With a combination of dried black beans, lima beans, and candy pumpkins, you can dig your hands into a festive sensory experience.
What You’ll Need to Do:
- Gather dried black beans, lima beans, and a few candy pumpkins.
- Use a permanent marker to draw little ghost faces on the lima beans. You can give them different expressions – think surprised, angry, happy, even silly!
- Add the beans and pumpkins into your bin and set it on a flat surface that is easily accessible for your child – ideally a location where they cannot push or tip it over.
Your child can spend hours counting the beans, digging in the bin, or even making a stack of lima bean ghosts!
Color Changing Leaves
As days grow shorter and the temperature drops, we begin to see the most beautiful sign of fall: the color changing leaves! This activity, using shaving cream and food dye, is a fun indoor sensory activity designed to mimic our favorite red, yellow, and orange leaves.
What You’ll Need to Do:
- Use a permanent marker to draw leaf outlines on the outside of a gallon-size Ziplock bag. If you are in Maryland, you can outline hickory, scarlet oak, red maple, and American beech leaves to represent local flora.
- Open the bag and spray shaving foam inside, filling it approximately a third of the way full.
- Add one or two drops of food dye. If you’re making multiple bags, add different combinations of red and yellow to see a gradient of colors.
- Without squishing the shaving foam, squeeze out as much air as you can and seal it.
- For added security, you can add a strip of clear packing tape along the top so your child will not be able to unzip or pop the bag open. Let your child squish and mix the shaving foam inside the bag and watch how the food dye blends to create beautiful fall colors!
Fall Scent Exploration
We are entering Pumpkin Spice season! Exploring the spices of fall are a fun way to engage your child’s senses.
What You’ll Need to Do:
- Collect a selection of fall spices, such as cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, and vanilla; and a corresponding number of small plastic containers.
- Sprinkle a small amount of each spice into its own small container.
- Add 3 to 4 cotton balls to each container, snap the lid on, and shake it around to coat the cotton balls in the spice. (This will ensure your child is able to smell the spices without it getting up their nose.)
- Once you have all the containers done, give them to your child and help them explore the scents.
Open them one at a time, take a whiff, and chat to your child about what they smell. You can ask questions like, “Do you like this smell? Why or why not?” or, “Does this remind you of something?” You can even make it a matching game by lining up the original spice bottles and trying to pair them up with the correct scent!
As you dive into these engaging sensory activities, you’ll not only celebrate the beauty of fall but also create cherished memories with your child. Each activity offers a unique way to explore the season’s sights, sounds, and smells, fostering creativity and curiosity in your child. Whether you’re digging through a Halloween sensory bin, mixing vibrant colors, or discovering delightful fall scents, these experiences encourage learning through play. So, gather your materials, embrace the autumn spirit, and enjoy the wonderful moments of connection and discovery that this season brings!