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!

Lacing is a great fine motor activity, and most kids go through a phase where they enjoy working with lacing cards. It helps promote focus and is a great quiet activity for kids to do in the car or to fill time in the classroom. And of course knowing how to lace is the beginning of knowing how to sew, which is great for all kids to learn (more on teaching kids to sew here).

There are lots of ways to make your own lacing cards. This one is just a pin but it’s easy to make lacing cards with any shape a child is into using cardboard and a nail to poke the holes. This could be fun for letter and number recognition or spelling the child’s name. Or try this version from Hey Azka, which uses a hole punch to make bigger holes so you can lace with shoe laces.

You can also just do lacing cards with paper, but it’s a great idea to print them on card stock and/or laminate them to make them sturdier for little hands. Homeschool Share has a set of alphabet lacing cards, which are free with email signup. Deceptively Educational has a set of number lacing cards with numbers 0 to 10.

Picklebums has some basic shape lacing cards, too.

Living Life and Learning has a bunch of cute printable lacing cards, including back to school designs, shoes kids can lace and learn to tie and ocean themed lacing cards. She also has tips for making your own lacing cards.

A Rose Tinted World made their lacing cards with craft foam, which makes them a little more durable than paper and you can cut it more easily than cardboard. They used a die cutting machine but you can also cut shapes by hand.

I also love the cat and mouse cards from Seam Whisperer. They also have some spring themed designs. So cute!

If you want to make lacing cards that are more open ended, check out this tutorial form Pretty Life Girls to make lacing cards that are more like geo boards. Theirs are made with wood but you can also do this with cardboard, craft foam or card stock.

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