Fun Winter Sensory Activities for Kids

Where I live it’s a rare thing to see snow in December (though a recent Facebook memory reminded me it snowed in mid-December once, 10 years ago!) but this time of year, whether there’s real snow on the ground or some people are just wishing there was (or you live in the other half of the world where some snow sounds pretty nice right about now) it’s a great time to make some snow related sensory activities.

I almost added this snow marble run from Happy Toddler Playtime to my Christmas STEM projects roundup, but then I decided winter/snow deserved its own post because we’ll still be in winter a lot longer than we were in Christmas season. This one calls for actual snow and you can do it indoors or out, but you could probably use some of the snow alternatives we’ll talk about later to do this one if you don’t have real snow handy.

But if you do have snow, you can try this fun snow paint activity from Two Kids and a Coupon. I like that you can do it inside, because that’s always my preference when it’s cold and snowy.

If you don’t have real snow, you can make your own from hair conditioner and baking soda. Find the recipe and ideas for playing with it in this winter toddler sensory bind post from The Mindful Toddler. Or you can make snow dough with this recipe from The Best Ideas for Kids.

While you’re making snow playdough you can also print out these winter playdough mats from Crafty Kids Play. You can use store-bought dough or make your own in different colors.

Use Styrofoam from a leftover holiday packing box to make this arctic sensory bin from Little Ladoo.

Or make a melted snowman art project with homemade puffy paint. 5 Minutes for Mom shows you how with a tutorial from Busy Mommy Media.

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A few years ago I shared some pumpkin themed sensory activities for kids, but I wanted to get a little more general and do some fall sensory ideas that can take you from Halloween al the way to Thanksgiving.

Playdough is a classic sensory activity, especially if kids can help make it, too. These playdough recipes from The Montessori Twin Mama are fall colored and scented with cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and apple pie spice (I honestly don’t know what the difference is!). Or try this fun maple playdough from Happy Toddler Playtime.

Throw together some cookie cutters, googly eyes and other fun things to make an easy fall playdough tray (similar to what I did on this Halloween playdough activity).

How about some fall themed slime? Natural Beach Living gave a basic slime recipe a fall twist with food coloring and glitter. Leaf shaped sequins make it even more fun. Little Bins for Little Hands also has a cinnamon slime, which is great for fall but can also carry you all the way through Christmas.

Raising Wild Things Sensory has some great easy to make fall themed sensory bottles, which you can add fall things to, or pompoms or whatever kind of I spy items you might want to include. They also have a fun apple moon sand sensory bin that has me wondering if you could add something scented to moon sand (I always hated the smell!).

And of course there are all kinds of sensory bins you can make for fall. I like this apple picking one from Happy Toddler Playtime that uses fake leaves and little apple toys. It has the added challenge of trying to pick the apples up through a mesh of branches — kind of like a low-tech game of Operation!

You can also do a short-lived sensory bin with real leaves, or use any kind of beans, brown rice, oats or lentils to make your base. Some more great ideas can be found at Fab Everyday. Their post includes some specific Halloween and Thanksgiving themed sensory bins, too.

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