Pumpkin Pie Sensory Bin for Kids
Ahh, fall! Cooler weather, apple picking, football season, and of course… pumpkin spice!
If you're looking for a fun way to bring a little fall into your sensory play, this pumpkin pie sensory bin is a really easy one to put together. And your kids can use it for more than just sensory play. We turned ours into a pretend pumpkin pie bakery, complete with recipes!
What You'll Need
Here's what I used for our pumpkin pie sensory bin:
Rolled oats
Cinnamon sticks
Cotton balls
Small orange pumpkins or pumpkin-shaped pieces
A pumpkin-shaped tray or small pie tins
Scoops, spoons, and other sensory tools
A bin or container
You definitely don't have to use the exact same materials. That's part of the fun of sensory bins! Use what you have on hand and get creative.
The rolled oats make a great base for this sensory bin. The cinnamon sticks add some fall color and a little bit of that yummy pumpkin-pie smell, while the cotton balls become the whipped cream.
And, of course, we need something to make all those pretend pies in!
Setting Up the Fall Sensory Bin
Start by filling your bin with rolled oats.
Then add the cinnamon sticks, little pumpkins, cotton balls, and anything else you'd like your child to use for pretend baking.
I also added some pumpkin-shaped trays and sensory tools for scooping and pouring.
Once everything was set up, I added my Pumpkin Pie Recipe Cards.
The recipe cards give kids simple pretend recipes to follow as they make their pies. They also sneak in a little counting practice because the recipes tell them how many of each ingredient to add.
And that's my favorite kind of learning activity… the kind where kids don't even realize they're learning!
Time to Make Some Pumpkin Pies!
Once the sensory bin was ready, it was time to play!
Four-year-old Ella had SO much fun scooping and pouring the oats and adding her different "ingredients" to the pies.
She used the recipe cards to make her pies, counting out the different ingredients as she went.
The cards were an excellent preschool math activity, but she had no idea she was doing math.
As far as she knew, she was just makin' pies!
And then, of course, the play took on a life of its own.
After I took these photos, my daughter transitioned from playing with the sensory bin to playing "bakery lady" in her play kitchen. She spent almost an hour playing and baking!
That's one of the reasons I love open-ended sensory activities. You can give kids a simple invitation to play, and then let them take it wherever their imagination goes.
More Ways to Play
Once your child has made the pies on the recipe cards, let them come up with their own!
You could ask:
What ingredients would you put in your pie?
How many scoops of oats do you need?
How many pumpkins will you add?
What should you call your pie?
How much whipped cream does your pie need?
You can also add measuring cups, muffin tins, bowls, or other kitchen tools you already have at home.
Pumpkin Pie Recipe Cards
If you'd like to recreate the pretend-play activity we did, you can grab the Pumpkin Pie Recipe Cards from my TPT store.
The cards give kids simple picture-supported recipes to follow as they make their pretend pumpkin pies. They're a fun way to add some early math and following-directions practice to a sensory activity without making it feel like a worksheet.
GET THE PUMPKIN PIE RECIPE CARDS →
A Quick Safety Note
Some of the materials in this sensory bin are small and could be a choking hazard for young children.
Always use your best judgment when choosing materials for your child and supervise sensory play as needed.
More Fall Fun
If you're looking for more fall activities to try with your kids, you might also enjoy these:
Witches' Brew Counting Activity and Recipe Cards — another fun sensory activity that uses pretend recipes and counting.
Pumpkin Prayer Activities — a simple faith-based pumpkin activity that's perfect for fall.
Let's Make Some Pumpkin Pie!
This fall sensory bin was such a simple activity to put together, but it kept Ella busy for a long time.
Sometimes you really don't need anything fancy. A bin of oats, a few fall-themed items, and a little imagination can turn into an afternoon of pretend baking.
And I'm pretty sure pretend pumpkin pie tastes just as good as the real thing.
