Here are some of the best fall + halloween sensory activities for kids! We LOVE to get into the holidays over here, and these sensory activities are an easy way to get into the spirit! Here is our running list for September and October - painting pumpkins, making fall scented play dough, and glow-in-the-dark slime... with more to come!
painting and washing pumpkins
I'm not sure if Busy Toddler "invented" this, but I saw it on her site first, so she needs some credit. If you don't already know, she is a genius when it comes to keeping toddlers busy doing seemingly simple things. Basically here is her list, and our current favorite is the painting and washing pumpkins!
what you'll need:
pumpkins*
washable paint + paint brushes
tub of water (we used our sensory table) and soap (optional)
scrub brush and wash clothes
*For pumpkins, last year we just went to the 'pumpkin patch' at Whole Foods because Bill was gone for the weekend, and there was no way I was trying to wrangle 4 little kids at a real pumpkin patch. Whole Foods served the purpose, as they have *quite* the variety! In fact, for this project, you could also just get the really small ones that Target has (if Whole Foods is an extra stop), and your kids would probably like it just as much!
instructions:
Kids paint the pumpkins
Kids wash + dry the pumpkins
Yep... it's that simple!
homemade fall play dough
You know that we love a good homemade play dough... so we made three of them!
what you'll need:
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup salt
4 teaspoons cream of tartar
2 cups lukewarm water
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
ziplock bags (quart or gallon work best!)
directions:
Put the flour, salt, cream of tartar, water, and vegetable oil into a pot and mix.
Cook the ingredients over medium heat until the consistency thickens - make sure to stir the ingredients the entire time!
Once the mix is thick, remove it from the pot and place it on a cutting board to cool.
After it cools, separate it into various ziplock bags (depending how many variations you'd like to make - we did three).
Now you're ready to add the food coloring and mix-ins!
And finally, the bottom of your pot will have some residue, just don't forget to soak the pot and it will come right out.
To make it a fall play dough, after it cooled a bit we added:
apple: red food coloring, apple pie seasoning, and apple baking flavoring (optional)
pumpkin pie: yellow + red food coloring and pumpkin pie spice
cinnamon: lots of cinnamon!
You'll need to add a decent amount of spice for each of these to overtake the play dough smell, but it's totally worth it! And to speed up the process, you'll see that we added a concentrated baking flavoring to one of them.
To add to the fun, we also got found some small wooden apples at the dollar store and painted them bright red with bronze stems - as mix-ins... the possibilities are endless!
glow-in-the-dark slime
We never turn down a chance to make slime... and spooky season is perfect!
what you'll need:
Elmers glue (one 4 oz container)
Elmers magical liquid (~8 tablespoons)
Accessories - We used a plastic cauldron, glow-in-the-dark hand, and little plastic bones from the dollar store! Target also has some mini accessories in potion containers in the dollar section right now!
directions:
Dump a container of glue into the bowl.
Add a few drops of green food coloring - a drop at a time to find the perfect green.
Slowly add the magical liquid - a tablespoon at a time - until the slime no longer sticks to the stirring fork.
Add in the foam balls!
It's as easy as that! And if you need a classroom or goodie bag treat, you can put it into these little jars and dress them up with a cute sticker!
Hope you enjoyed our activities so far... more to come this season! :)
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