22 Simple and Unique Fall Sensory Activities

Published: September 24, 2024

22 awesome and easy fall sensory activities that are perfect for toddlers, preschoolers, and kids!

There are so many wonderful opportunities to explore new sensory experiences in this season of fall.

I have said many times before that sensory play is more than just a sensory bin, although those are great, too. Kids are able to take in sounds, smells, sights, and even movement as forms of sensory input.

In this post, I have 22 wonderful fall sensory activities. Plenty to keep you busy this season! I will highlight some of the not-so-obvious sensory input your kiddos will be getting with these activities along the way. Here’s to a sensory-filled October and November!

22 Awesome Fall Sensory Activities

1. To start our list of fall sensory activities off I’m going to share the ultimate tactile experience – Pumpkin Guts! The boys helped take the seeds and pulp out of a small pumpkin that we roasted them. They got to touch, smell, and see the different textures of the pumpkin. And, they got to taste and smell those crunchy pumpkin seeds. Loads of sensory!

I do suggest that you proceed with this activity cautiously, if you have a child that is tactile defensive. This is some intense input, if your child is reluctant, gently encourage and offer a utensil to use instead of their hands. Hopefully, they will get more comfortable and dive right in as you proceed.

2. Give some proprioceptive (deep pressure) input with Pounding Golf Tees into Pumpkins, as demonstrated by I Can Teach Myself. This is at the very top of my fall sensory bucket list, I love it. Besides the sensory benefits, this is great for fine motor skills!

3. Of course you have to get into some home-made play dough, with lovely fall scents and colors. Try Pumpkin Play Dough, because you can never have too much pumpkin!

4. Play in the leaves! Have your kiddo help push leaves together, rake, and then jump, run and roll through them. It’s a classic fall activity for good reason, but your kid will also be getting lots of heavy work proprioceptive input!

5. Go on a nature walk and try collecting leaves, pine cones, or buckeyes. You and the little ones will be taking in the powerful and unique scents, sights, and feel of fall. Use some fun kitchen utensils that work on fine-motor skills, too!

6. Put other finds from your walk in empty water bottles, this is a safe way for babies and young toddlers to explore the sensations of fall! Kids will love participating in and later decorating with these fun bottles.

7. Make Eerie Sounds with this fun little noisemaker from Science Sparks and stimulate the sense of hearing!

8. Make a pumpkin spice erupting pumpkin! So much fun and so many good idea…

9. Gather fall leaves into piles and let the kids run and jump through them for loads of proprioceptive, vestibular, tactile input, AND fun! This is good ol’fashioned fun and kids couldn’t love it more. It’s simple and if not in your back yard, drive to a local park.

10. Blindfold the kiddies and have them reach them into Guess Bags filled with fall finds, like The Pleasantest Thing did. Wonderful for developing tactile discrimination. Love this one, simply hide some fall items into brown bags and have your kid guess without looking!

11. Use black beans and Halloween inspired toys to make a go to sensory bin. You will get a lot of use out of this bin throughout the month and more!

12. Make “pumpkin cake” in A Jewled Rose’s Pumpkin Scented Cloud Dough. It’s only 4 ingredients: cooking oil, flour, pumpkin spice (for scent), and paint powder, which is optional. Use it if you want the bright orange color!

13. Put up strings in your hallway or in between close walls, criss-crossing them all of the place. Pretend it’s a spider web and have your kid crawl through, which is great for motor planning and body awareness!

14. Explore Fall Seeds with tweezers, magnify glasses, and petri dishes from Teach Preschool.

15. Roast a pumpkin and use to mix in with pancakes, waffles, or oatmeal. Canned pumpkin works fine though, too! Pumpkin is a unique flavor that kids often enjoy. This pumpkin waffle recipe (can also be adapted for panackes) has been a favorite in my house for years, its so good we make it all year round!

16. Make the Pinterest sensation: Pumpkin, Sweet Potato, and Banana Bread, for another way to cook with pumpkin. This is seriously so good and can be made into mini muffins for picky eaters that need less texture exposure.

17. Make Dry Leaf Confetti and use it to make some fun fall crafts, from Cute and Peculiar. All you do is literally dry out the leaves and crinkle them up. Talk about a tactile experience!

18. Bake and eat apple chips. Talk about how the texture and taste of the apple changes before and after cooking. These are soooo easy!

19. Create Acorn Paintings with recycled containers, it will be hard to avoid getting messy with this activity. Kids will get deep pressure from shaking the containers up to make their art! Get more proprioceptive activities here.

20. Create a simple fall themed obstacle course! Make a simple circuit of climbing through a string spider web (see above), jumping in leaves, and hopping in sack.

21. Pretend the kids are squirrels and assemble a Fall Sensory Bin that they dig through while playing outside, from The Pleasantest Thing. Fill it with leaves and pine cones!

22. Make glow in the dark slime from A Jeweled Rose!

More Fall Sensory Activities For Kids

Still want more inspiration? Snag our Fall Sensory Activities Pack in our shop! It has 24 amazing sensory activities perfect for fall, with a planner to organize over 8 weeks! The activities in this pack are filled with lots of details so you have everything at your finger tips, and they’re different from the one’s shared in this post.

Have more ideas you’d like to share? Let me know in the comments!

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14 Comments

Liesel on September 25, 2024 at 11:16 am

Can you recommend activities for a 5yo child (and ultra picky eater – 2 items only) whose only joy is ripping the pages of books?

Laura Mau on October 5, 2024 at 9:09 pm

Hi Liesel,

I would definitely lean into the aspects of ripping paper that he likes and try to branch from there. Some of the more “destructive” focused activities that I recommend are turning it into a focused activity. So having designated paper for the task, rip a piece, crumple it up, and throw to a target. This adds a sequence and purpose to an otherwise non-purposeful action. The other one that is a big hit with some of my more destructive kids is breaking ice, so freezing ice sheets on plates, Tupperware bins, etc. and having kids shatter it, hit with hammers, break apart with tools, etc. For some kids, it really “scratches the itch” of breaking things, and helps them regulate. Hope this helps a bit!

Best,

Laura
Your Kid’s Table team member
Reply

katy Phillips on August 31, 2021 at 5:31 pm

Do you have any ideas for a child who doesn’t like dry things, like paper, or chalk dust? It’s really impacting her school work. She also is constantly wanting to use lotion on her hands.

Your Kids Table Team Member on September 1, 2021 at 9:54 am

Hey Katy,

Oh that sounds really challenging, especially during school! You might try out some sensory bins to help her with some of her tactile sensitives. It might also be helpful to send her to school with a small bottle of lotion or see if it’s possible for her to have access to a damp towel, so she can wipe off her hands while she’s working.

Best,
Andrea
Reply
- Julina Smith on September 25, 2024 at 10:39 am
  
  I HATE chalk, there are chalk holders that help. Paper is tougher, but if they can wear close fitting gloves that might help? Or use a page protector and dry erase markers?
  Agree with wipes and lotion- I prefer Aveeno because it absorbs quickly and doesn’t leave a residue on my hands (I can use thicker lotions on my feet, for example, but then I have to wash my hands… but that might not apply in your case…)
  Good luck
  Reply

vingino on October 9, 2013 at 11:05 am

great list

thanx for sharing

Susan Case on October 5, 2012 at 5:16 pm

Thank you for visiting my blog. I’d love to include this link to a Science / Sensory post I’m working on if that is all right?

Alisha on October 5, 2012 at 7:09 pm

Oh my gosh, of course Susan, would love that! Let me know when it is going up and I will share on facebook and twitter!
Reply

Jaime JJ on October 5, 2012 at 11:31 am

thanks for the share, Jaime@FSPDT

Kelly on October 3, 2012 at 11:28 am

Thanks for sharing these great ideas!

Valerie @ Glittering Muffins on October 2, 2012 at 1:25 am

Great post, thanks for sharing!

Alisha on October 1, 2012 at 9:28 pm

Here are four more great links, that I wanted to pass along!

http://www.kcedventures.com/blog/leaves-and-seeds-kids-nature-activities

http://frogsandsnailsandpuppydogtails-jaime.blogspot.com/2012/09/trick-or-treat-sensory-noodles.html

http://www.parentsociety.com/toddler/fall-sensory-tub-for-toddlers/

http://fitkidsclub.blogspot.com/2012/09/clubhouse-season-changes-hello-fall.html

cute and peculiar on October 1, 2012 at 9:08 pm

Great list! Thank you for posting!

Allison on October 1, 2012 at 7:29 pm

Great list of activities!