Fall Fun with Pumpkin Pie Sensory Play

easy pumpkin pie sensory play in preschool

The kiddos loved our apple pie sensory bin, so I thought I’d try a slightly different twist.  Since Thanksgiving is coming up, I decided to go with some pumpkin pie sensory play this time!

Materials (I may get commissions for purchases made through links in this post)
Oats
Pumpkin pie spice
Orange glass gems
Small plastic containers
Tongs
Measuring cups
Measuring spoons

Set Up
I placed the dry oats in our classroom sensory table, then added a bit of pumpkin pie spice.  I added more spice at the kids’ request — I have a lot of children who love involving scents in our discovery center.  After mixing up the oats and spices, I placed some orange glass gems into the bin.  Then tongs, little containers, measuring cups and spoons were added.

When center time rolled around, I told the children they could explore the sensory table.  I didn’t give any more explanation than that, as I wanted to see what the kids would do on their own.

How the Kids Played
Over the course of the week, the boys and girls thoroughly explored the pumpkin pie sensory play!  They started out by dumping the glass gems into the oats and mixed everything up with one of the spoons.  Apparently, they decided to make pumpkin soup.  The “soup” was ladled into small containers and served to classmates all over the room.  At this point, I reminded the kids that the sensory items should stay near the sensory table!

The oats were then scooped and poured, transferred between containers, and so much more!  Some of the kiddos loved smelling it, too — they were the ones who had bits of oats on the end of their noses!  One of the students spent most of the time scooping the scented oats into containers just to make the scent stronger.  Little pumpkin pies were made, as well as “pumpkiny pie cake” (which I found entertaining).  For the cakes and pies, the children enjoyed using the gems as decorations and sprinkles.

All in all, this sensory bin was a hit with the children!  I love seeing how very simple materials lead to hours of imaginative play!  I’m sure we’ll bring this out again as Thanksgiving approaches.

Adapting for Younger Children
If I were to try this with younger kiddos, I would definitely remove the glass gems!  Other than that, I would keep the rest of the materials for them to play with.  Of course, you know the children in your care best and can adjust this activity to best suit their needs.

Have you ever created a scented sensory bin with your students/children?  What did they think of it?

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