Thanksgiving Sensory Activities

There are so many fun sensory experiences that come around Thanksgiving, with lots of things to see, smell and touch. These Thanksgiving themed sensory activities are fun to do at home or with small groups of kids.

Of course the dominant smell/taste of Thanksgiving you probably think of is pumpkin, and I found recipes for pumpkin fluff from Teaching Mama, pumpkin play dough from Wildy Wonders, and pumpkin slime from My Joy Filled Life.

You can use that scented play dough to do pumpkin pie fraction math, with printables from Fantastic Fun and Learning. Or make a turkey with your dough and other things you might have lying around like feathers, eyes and little bits of foam or other found objects. Learn how in this post from Mama Papa Bubba.

Get more pumpkin-specific sensory experiences and ideas here: pumpkin sensory activities. (This post was more for Halloween but pumpkin endures through the seasons, doesn’t it?

If you’re not a pumpkin fan you can try apple pie playdough instead, which uses apple pie spice instead of pumpkin spice. This recipe is from The Best Ideas for Kids, but you can use your favorite playdough recipe and add food coloring and spices of whatever sort you like to make a fall playdough.

Another great scent and sensory experience of the season comes form cranberries. You can make a cranberry-scented playdough with this recipe from Learn Play Imagine, or do some cranberry STEM and sensory activities with these ideas from Little Bins for Little Hands.

There are lots of different possibilities for making sensory bins with seasonally appropriate fillers like corn (I Can Teach My Child) or Indian corn (Still Playing School), brown paper (Mrs. Plemon’s Kindergarten) or even fall-colored pasta (Not Quite Super Mom).

Some fun things to add to your fall or Thanksgiving sensory bins include measuring cups, fake pumpkins, acorns, real or fake leaves, little cups, etc.

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!