Fall Activities for Kids – Sensory Play Ideas
With cooler weather and leaves changing outside, these fall activities for kids are a great way to incorporate sensory play ideas with the season changes! The great thing about fall is that your own backyard has plenty of resources for fall sensory bins! Look for pinecones, colorful fall leaves, acorns, hedge balls, gourds and pumpkins!
Fall Tree Leaves with Puzzle Pieces
Most of us have old puzzles laying around the house which is perfect for this fall tree canvas art! Paint your puzzle pieces with fall colors such as red, yellow, orange and green. Braid or fold some brown belt and glue it in the middle of a canvas for a tree trunk. Then glue your colorful fall puzzle piece “leaves” on!
Want to add an additional smell to this sensory art? Spritz it with a little bit of cinnamon essential oil!
No Sew Felt Toys
No sew felt toys are one of my absolute favorite things to create for kids! Whether you use a die cut machine, a printable template, or just make your own designs by freehand, cut out two of any shape you desire, hot glue inside the edges and stuff with cotton batting!
These colorful leaves are wonderful for adding essential oils on, adding to sensory bins, fill with beans, or even creating a colorful baby mobile!
Printable Apple Play Dough Mats
Surviving a Teacher’s Salary has a fantastic set of fall apple play dough mats that make fantastic sensory activities for quiet time. Make your own cinnamon play dough recipe and roll up little red apples to place in each square to count!
If you don’t have play dough available to play with you can use red pom pom balls!
Fall Apple Pie Felt Pretend Play
Pretend play is a huge part of preschool development and this felt apple pie couldn’t be easier to make! You’ll need a cheap pie tin that you can probably pick up at your local dollar store or thrift store, play apple toys, one large round brown piece of felt for the bottom of the pie, and a pile of brown felt strips to create a lattice on the top of your pie.
You can incorporate learning colors, sizes, fruit, or anything else in this yummy looking pretend pie!
Fall Sensory Nature Basket
Perhaps the easiest sensory activity in fall is right in your own backyard! I created this sensory basket using tree slices, rocks, leaves, pinecones, moss balls, a wicker basket, hedge balls, acorns, and anything else you find in the fall outdoors!
Melt Crayons on Pumpkins
Grab a beautiful white pumpkin with the flattest top you can find. Lay broken crayons all the way around the top and grab your hair dryer! Slowly melt the crayons and watch them drip down the sides of the pumpkin! I recommend placing the pumpkin inside a box to help minimize splatter.
Woodland Nature Sensory Tray
Dollar stores and thrift stores are your best friend when designing themed sensory play activities for kids. The thrift store is great for all shapes and sizes wood trays or wicker baskets. I ordered faux grass turf rolls on Amazon and picked up squirrels and other wildlife animals at my local dollar store.
In addition to the above sensory nature basket, these wildlife habitat sensory trays are perfect for incorporating sensory activities. Consider woodland animals, forest trays, fairy gardens, pumpkin patches, or even cityscapes!
Fall Sensory Bin Material Ideas:
corn kernels
acorns
straw
pumpkin guts
leaves
sticks
sunflower seeds
corn husks
colored buttons
black beans
bird seed
oats
yarn
feathers
gelatin
cinnamon sticks
corn meal
Grab some pumpkins, scrape out the mush, bake pumpkin seeds, and carve or paint a spooky design!
