Fall-inspired Sensory Play

A season-themed sensory play setup is a great way to deepen a child’s understanding of seasons, seasonal changes and the items associated with each season. And since rice is one of our favorite sensory bases, I decided to use it for this simple fall-inspired sensory activity. I mixed red, yellow and orange rice (which I had previously dyed using food coloring) in a tray and added some pumpkins, pine cones and wood chips. 

A enjoyed scooping and transferring rice, pouring it over the pine cones and hiding the wood chips in it. 

While sensory bins are not Montessori, they can nonetheless be very enjoyable, calming and beneficial for your child, especially if you have a sensory-seeking child. You can create Montessori-aligned sensory bins – that are close-ended or have a specific purpose – but you can also simply embrace open-ended sensory bins for what they are: an invitation to explore with the senses, that provides children with an abundance of opportunities for open-ended, unstructured and even pretend play.

You can go on walks with your child and collect items to go in the sensory bins or even go on a scavenger’s hunt for specific items. If it aligns with your child’s needs and interests, go ahead and offer it.

Cleaning up is part of the learning process, so make sure to encourage your child to tidy up after they finish playing. Model how to do it until your child feels confident enough to initiate the tidying up process independently.