I have a really cute and fun sensory bin idea to use during the Fall months or for Halloween occupational therapy sessions. This pumpkin sensory bin is one that is not just cute, it’s a great tool for supporting fine motor and visual motor skills, too. I love that the items are things you can find in most homes, but if not, you can definitely substitute some of the items in the sensory bin for other materials you do have on hand. We also have other pumpkin sensory activities to check out here on the site, too.
Let’s talk about all of the reasons why we are using this Fall sensory bin this year…
How fun does this Fall sensory bin look? Do you want to dig in and play, too? Add a few other pumpkin activities to this sensory play, like our pumpkin deep breathing exercise is just one idea!
Also be sure to check out our Apple Sensory bin. It’s an easy way to use many of the same materials.
Pumpkin Sensory Bin
If you work with kids, then you might be aware of the power of a sensory bin. They are so much fun to explore and play with, and a pumpkin sensory bin is even better.
Also, be sure to check out the many pumpkin activities are to be found here on The OT Toolbox! Use these fall ideas all season long from Halloween through Thanksgiving!
Another one of our favorite fall sensory bins is a pumpkin egg carton sensory bin. You could add those egg carton pumpkins to the sensory bin we have below. It would be a good way to add more fine motor development with a pumpkin theme.
What is a Pumpkin Sensory Bin?
A pumpkin pie sensory bin is a fun Fall sensory activity for kids. You can basically use the sensory bin as a pretend play activity where kids can explore and pretend to make a pumpkin pie.
Our pumpkin pie sensory bin has a pretend pumpkin pie and the scents of pumpkin.
It’s a fun way to play this Fall season!
Benefits of Using a Pumpkin Pie Sensory Bin in OT Sessions
This is one sensory bin that is fun for the Fall months because you can incorporate different scents, objects, and containers. Plus, when you use the pie crust (felt pieces), you can add a visual perception and visual motor skills aspect. This is a fun Fall sensory bin idea that can actually last from September through November, which is another benefit!
I love using sensory bins in occupational therapy sessions because you can target specific skills. You can use one sensory bin with several kids on your therapy caseload, and the materials are often inexpensive so you can use a simple sensory bin base like the one we used in this pumpkin pie sensory bin, oats!
It’s easy to select a few scoops and containers, and then add sensory bin details to explore with a whole caseload. Then, just replace the base after a few students. In occupational therapy sessions, we love to focus on the function, so really working on washing and drying the hands before therapy sessions and then at the end of therapy sessions is great. You can add that task to the therapy interventions, and it helps to use the sensory bin with a small group of kids.
We use sensory bins for many reasons-
fine motor tool use like tongs and tweezers, to work on hand strength and eye hand coordination to pick up small objects. You can use scoops and spoons to work on life skills of using and holding utensils.
You can sort colors to target visual motor skills. You can hide items in the sensory bin to target visual closure and visual figure ground.
Then there is the tactile sensory component. We used a dry sensory base here, and that can be alerting or calming to some students.
This means as they play, they can use the sensory bin as a sensory tool to support sensory needs. Read about fine motor skills in play.
One other way that a sensory bin supports fine motor skills is by inviting kids to scoop and pour the sensory materials. I like using oats like in this pumpkin pie sensory bin because you can see the material as you scoop it into a container. Oats are a good medium to use because it’s easier to scoop and pour than a material like corn meal or flour. I like to use this activity when working on the eye hand coordination skills needed to pour water from a pitcher into a cup, or pouring cereal from a box into a bowl. There are so many functional skills that you can work on with a simple sensory bin like this pumpkin pie bin!
I also love the calming and mindfulness piece of sensory bins. When you play in a sensory bin with interesting features, you’ll see kids that really focus on finding items. I love to see the kids that are so focused on exploring the sensory bin, that you can see their whole body calm down as they play. It’s a great self regulation tool that you can use with your students.
For kids that are sensitive to tactile input, especially the dry texture of the oats, this can be a way to get more comfortable with the texture. Some kids will grab handfuls of the oats and others wont’ even touch them with a spoon. You can help kids to touch or explore a little bit at a time. It’s a great tactile discrimination exercise for these kids.
So, if you are looking for an Autumn sensory play idea, this pumpkin pie sensory activity is a great one to try!
Pumpkin Pie Sensory Bin Materials
You can see in the picture, the items that we used in this sensory bin. The items that we used are things we already had (the scoops/tongs/and low tray) along with some items found at the dollar store (beige felt and manipulatives).
The pumpkin pie sensory bin ingredients in our sensory bin include: Amazon affiliate links included.
- Oats
- Resin Pumpkins (Found at Dollar Tree)
- Cinnamon Sticks
- Felt strips Cut these into small strips.
- Foam Pumpkins (Found at Dollar Tree)
- Orange Pom Poms
- Pumpkin pie tin or silicone cupcake liner (affiliate link)
- Scoop
- Tray I love these trays on Amazon (affiliate link) because you can use them for many different sensory bins and writing trays.
- Mini Rolling Pins (affiliate link)- These would also be great for working on fine motor skills with play dough.
You could also add other components, to vary the sensory bin and change it up a little bit. For kids that struggle with doing an activity one and then don’t want to use the activyt any other way, we can add or change just a part of it, like adding scents in the way of pumpkin pie spice, a fake pie tin or silicone cupcake liner (affiliate link), and other items.
How to Set up the Pumpkin Pie Sensory Bin
This is such an easy sensory bin to set up. Prepare your tray. Pour in oats. Add the manipulatives. Add tongs or scoops.
If you are using felt like we did, you will want to cut a small circle to fit the size of your pie tin or silicone cupcake liner (affiliate link). Then Cut another square that can cover the pie tin. Cut the square into strips. These felt pieces can be used to overlap one another to weave a topping for the pumpkin pie. This is a great visual perception activity!
This step-by-step sensory bin set up is pretty easy! And the benefits of the sensory bin are big!
Tips to Support Fine Motor Needs with the Pumpkin Pie Sensory Bin
Because one of the main goals with our sensory bin is probably improving fine motor skills and coordination, you can vary the materials and presentation of your sensory bin to target specific needs.
This is a good thing to keep in mind as an occupational therapist using the pumpkin pie sensory bin in therapy sessions.
Variations to the Pumpkin Pie Sensory Bin
You can use different textures or scents to make this different too. You can adapt the activity for different ages, like using this with toddlers, preschoolers, or school aged kids.
- Tweezers/tongs- These can be graded up or down depending on the needs and abilities of the child. You can use larger tongs or smaller tongs. You can use small tweezers or large tweezers.
- Scoops- You can use different sized scoops to pick up and pour or manipulate the materials.
- Manipulatives- Use larger or smaller manipulates to pick up and hold or sort.
- Add letters like the pumpkin letters or the pumpkin number cards we have inside The OT Toolbox membership. This way you can have kids draw the letter or the number in the oats. You could also hide the sensory bin cards in the oats and when the child finds a card, they can write the letter or number onto paper.
Safety Tips for a Pumpkin Pie Sensory Bin
Whenever you use a sensory bin as a therapy tool in occupational therapy sessions, it’s really important to be aware of the safety considerations. You’ll always want to remember what the child’s skills and abilities are, including safety awareness and sensory needs or challenges.
Some kids might put everything into their mouth. Other kids might through everything in the sensory bin onto the floor. These are things to consider. And, maybe the sensory bin activity isn’t used with those students. It depends on what their goals are and why you would want to use this activity as a play activity to develop their goal areas.
Of course, one of the biggest considerations is to always supervise the play. This is ture or any sensory interventions, but when you are using scoops, spoons, and scented items like the pumpkin pie spice or the cinnamon sticks, this can be especially true.
You can definitely try to come up with some child-safe sensory bin ideas that meet the needs of younger kids or those that might not be able to use this pumpkin pie sensory bin completely. Maybe you use larger manipulatives or omit the spoons. It really depends on the child.
Pumpkin Pie Sensory Bin FAQ
What age is this sensory bin appropriate for? One of the common sensory play questions that come up involve age level that the sensory bin is appropriate for. We tried to include ideas above about how to make this pumpkin pie sensory bin for toddlers and preschoolers. You can definitely change the materials to meet the needs and ages.
Want to make this sensory bin? Have fun! Be sure to grab our pumpkin therapy kit because you can use the materials in the kit to use a pumpkin theme in therapy. You’ll also want to check out all of the printable materials we have in The OT Toolbox Membership because we have a lot of pumpkin themed materials that can be used in a sensory bin!
Grab the Pumpkin Fine Motor Kit for more coloring, cutting, and eye-hand coordination activities with a Pumpkin theme! It includes:
- 7 digital products that can be used any time of year- has a “pumpkins” theme
- 5 pumpkin scissor skills cutting strips
- Pumpkin scissor skills shapes- use in sensory bins, math, sorting, pattern activities
- 2 pumpkin visual perception mazes with writing activity
- Pumpkin “I Spy” sheet – color in the outline shapes to build pencil control and fine motor strength
- Pumpkin Lacing cards – print, color, and hole punch to build bilateral coordination skills
- 2 Pumpkin theme handwriting pages – single and double rule bold lined paper for handwriting practice
Work on underlying fine motor and visual motor integration skills so you can help students excel in handwriting, learning, and motor skill development.
You can grab this Pumpkin Fine Motor kit for just $6!
Colleen Beck, OTR/L has been an occupational therapist since 2000, working in school-based, hand therapy, outpatient peds, EI, and SNF. Colleen created The OT Toolbox to inspire therapists, teachers, and parents with easy and fun tools to help children thrive. Read her story about going from an OT making $3/hour (after paying for kids’ childcare) to a full-time OT resource creator for millions of readers. Want to collaborate? Send an email to contact@theottoolbox.com.
