Pumpkin Fall Themed Sensory Activities

When my daughter was younger, she loved to play with the insides of the pumpkin when it was time to carve the jack o’lantern. In the years since she’s decided the inside of a pumpkin smells bad, but playing with pumpkin guts is a classic sensory activity that kids of all ages generally love.

Here are some more fun and easy pumpkin sensory activities to do at home or in the classroom, with real pumpkins or just pumpkin smells and colors.

Let’s start with a collection of pumpkin sensory activities using real pumpkins from Everyday Chaos and Calm. From pumpkin washing to hammering to painting, there are lots of fun ideas here (and this delves into pumpkin STEM activities as well).

If you have a kid who likes to play with pumpkin guts, you can take the slimy sensory factor up even further by making pumpkin slime that includes pumpkin guts. You can even mix it up in a pumpkin! Get the recipe from Little Bins for Little Hands.

If you’d rather have a slime that’s not quite so slimy, you can try this pumpkin spice slime from Sunshine Whispers.

How about pumpkin spice playdough? (I made some of this years ago when my daughter was in her playdough phase, and ti smells so good!) Another recipe is from Natural Beach Living, and this is a sensory activity you can use throughout the fall all the way through Thanksgiving.

And while we’re on the classic sensory substances, why not make some pumpkin scented moon sand, too? This recipe is made with pumpkin puree so it’s actually taste safe for those kiddos who always put everything in their mouths. You can get the recipe from Parenting Chaos.

For a different kind of sensory experience, try this pumpkin sensory matching activity from I Can Teach My Child. Just load fun things into orange balloons and see if kids can touch their way to matches. Or just do different sensory balloons for the classroom without the matching activity.

Are you looking for the best sensory toys and activities for your child? Explore our comprehensive resources to enhance your child’s sensory play and development. Check out our curated Amazon Idea List featuring top-rated sensory toys and items, and don’t miss our expertly written articles on sensory activities. Start creating fun and educational sensory experiences today!

Leif Erikson Day is celebrated on Oct. 9, and it’s a great time to learn more about the Vikings and why we still remember Erikson all these years later.

If you don’t know about Leif Erikson (sometimes spelled Eriksson), he’s believed to have been born in Iceland, and is considered the first European to set foot on continental America, more than 500 years before Christopher Columbus.

123 Homeschool 4 Me has a printable mini book about Leif Erikson and the Vikings for kids to read and color. It talks about who the Vikings were, what kind of ships they used, how they got to America and more. It’s a good overview for younger kids to use.

A good unit study is available from Simple Living Creative Learning, which includes a page where kids can write what they know, what they want to learn and what they learned through the unit, as well as information on the Vikings, longships, helmets, clothing and more.

Get a printable Viking unit study with reading passages, comprehension questions and other activities aimed at grades 4-8 from Creative Classroom Core at Teachers Pay Teachers. (And see more Vikings content from TPT here.)

Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus has some great unit study ideas, too, including suggested books and videos. The post includes information about the Viking voyages, society, mythology and ships, as well as some vocabulary and a list of famous Vikings. While you’re over there also check out her free printable lapbook, which includes mini books on ships, a timeline, a Viking women coloring page, draw your own Vikings, geography, ancient runes and more.

Piqolo Kids has a lesson on Viking women with (available for purchase) worksheets about a day in the life of Viking women. Even if you don’t grab the printables there’s some good resources on that page and a link to a video on Viking women.

Learn how to draw a Viking ship with instructions from Drawing How to Draw, or grab Vikings coloring and labeling worksheets from Kids Puzzles and Games.

There’s a Leif Erikson Festival annually in Norway, Michigan, which you can learn more about here.

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