When you think about autumn, what springs to mind? For me it’s pumpkins, burnt orange leaves and warming spices.    Whether you're looking for autumn activities, fall activities or simply some pumpkin-themed inspiration, pumpkins offer plenty of opportunities for hands-on sensory and creative play. From squishy oobleck and soft cloud dough to pumpkin crafts and small-world play, these six pumpkin-themed activities are perfect for toddlers and preschoolers, using simple materials you may already have in your kitchen cupboards. 

Remember, sensory play doesn't need to be complicated. A few everyday ingredients, some seasonal treasures and a handful of open-ended tools can create hours of fun, giving children the opportunity to explore, create and learn through play. 

1. Pumpkin Collage 

Bring the colours and textures of autumn into a simple pumpkin collage. This is a great open-ended craft for little ones, with lots of opportunities to explore different materials and create their own fun designs. 

What You'll Need: 

• Cardboard
• Contact paper (sticky-back plastic)
• Lentils
• Beans and seeds
• Autumn leaves
• Tissue paper
• Our Natural Scoops
• PlayTRAY 
  

How to Play 

Cut a pumpkin shape from cardboard and cover it with contact paper with the sticky side facing up.

Set out your lentils, beans, seeds, leaves and tissue paper in the PlayTRAY compartments and invite your child to decorate their pumpkin. The PlayTRAY lid provides a handy, stable surface to work on. They can create patterns, experiment with different textures or simply add the materials wherever they like.

Our Natural Scoops are perfect for transferring the smaller materials onto the pumpkin and add another fine motor element to the activity.

Encourage your child to compare the different colours, shapes, sizes and textures as they create their design. There's no right or wrong result – the focus is on exploring, creating and above all, having fun! 

2. Pumpkin Threading 

Turn simple beads and pasta into adorable little pumpkins with this easy threading activity. It's a lovely way to practise fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination and concentration, and you can easily adjust the difficulty depending on your child's age and ability. 

What You'll Need: 

• Orange pipe cleaners
• Pasta with large holes
• Chunky beads
• Smaller beads
• A mini peg
• Curling ribbon
• PlayTRAY 
  

How to Play 

Start with pasta pieces if your child is new to threading. The larger holes make them easier for little hands to handle. I like to keep a bag of pasta that I've coloured with paint for activities like this – it lasts for ages and can be used for all sorts of play and craft activities. For instructions, check out our blog: How to Dye Pasta for Play & Craft Activities.

You can then move on to chunky beads before introducing smaller beads for an extra challenge. The PlayTRAY compartments are really handy for keeping the different types of pasta and beads organised, so little ones can easily see and choose the materials they want to thread.

Thread the pasta or beads onto an orange pipe cleaner. Pipe cleaners are more rigid than string, making them easier for young children to handle and thread with.

Once the pipe cleaner is full, twist the two ends together to create a pumpkin shape. Fasten a mini peg to the top with a little curling ribbon to make the stalk.

As your child progresses from larger to smaller pieces, they're gradually developing their hand-eye coordination, finger strength and precision, all while having lots of fun!  

3. Pumpkin Spice Oobleck 

Give classic oobleck a cosy autumn twist with pumpkin pie spice! Oobleck is fascinating to explore because it behaves like both a liquid and a solid, making it a brilliant sensory experience for curious little hands. You can find out more about Oobleck, including How to Make Concrete Oobleck for Sensory Play on our blog. 

What You'll Need: 

• Cornflour
• Water
• Orange food colouring
• Pumpkin pie spice
• PlayTRAY
• Scoops
• Funnels 
  

How to Play 

Mix cornflour and water to create your oobleck, then add a little orange food colouring and pumpkin pie spice for a seasonal scent and colour.

Let your child explore the unusual texture with their hands, squeezing and squishing the mixture to see how it changes. Add scoops and funnels to encourage them to transfer, pour and experiment with the oobleck in different ways.

Talk about how it feels and what happens when they squeeze it, leave it still or try to scoop it. This messy play activity provides a wonderful opportunity for sensory exploration while introducing simple scientific concepts through play.

If you can't find pumpkin pie spice, you can make your own using a combination of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and allspice. 

4. Pumpkin Spice Cloud Dough 

If you love the smell of autumn, you'll love this pumpkin spice cloud dough! Our simple cloud dough recipe gets a seasonal makeover with warming spices, creating a soft, mouldable sensory material that's perfect for pretend baking and imaginative play. 

What You'll Need: 

For the cloud dough: 

• 4 cups flour
• ½ cup vegetable oil 
  

For the pumpkin spice: 

• 2 tbsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp ground allspice
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg 
  

How to Play 

Mix the flour and vegetable oil together until you have a soft, crumbly mixture that can also be moulded. Add the spices and mix well until they're evenly distributed.

Set it up in your PlayTRAY with mini pumpkins, bowls, scoops and other play tools and let your child explore. Cloud dough is particularly lovely for pretend baking, as children can scoop, pour, mix and mould their creations.

The combination of scooping and moulding provides plenty of opportunities to strengthen fine motor skills, while pretend cooking encourages imagination and language development.

Our cloud dough keeps well in the PlayTRAY, so you can pop the lid on and return to it another day. 

Safety note: If you’re worried about your little one tasting the dough, you can bake the flour first. Spread it on a baking tray and bake at 180°C/350°F for 10 minutes, then allow it to cool completely before using.

Download our FREE Pumpkin Spice Cloud Dough Recipe Card to keep the recipe handy. 

5. Pumpkin Fairy House 

Turn a pumpkin into a magical little home for fairies with this simple small-world play setup. 

What You'll Need: 

• A pumpkin
• Twigs
• Small fairies or other small world figures
• Small natural loose parts
• Pebbles or other materials for making furniture and decorations
• PlayTRAY 
  

How to Play

Use twigs to create a simple window frame on your pumpkin, rather than trying to carve a detailed window.

Add your fairies and create a little world around the pumpkin in your PlayTRAY using natural loose parts. You could make tiny tables and chairs, add little toadstools made from painted pebbles or create a garden using leaves, sticks and other treasures from outside.

Let your child take the lead with the story and see where their imagination takes them. Small-world play encourages creativity, storytelling and language while giving children the freedom to create their own imaginative world. 

6. Pumpkin Sensory Bin 

This simple pumpkin-themed sensory activity combines hands-on exploration with early maths. It's also a great option for children who aren't keen on wet or slimy textures, as the soft yarn provides a completely different sensory experience. 

What You'll Need: 

• Orange wool or yarn
• Pumpkin seeds
• Our Number Set
• Sensory Play Tongs
• Bowls
• PlayTRAY 
  

How to Play

Cut the orange wool or yarn into shorter lengths and add it to your PlayTRAY. Sprinkle pumpkin seeds amongst the yarn and add your Number Set.

Invite your child to use the tongs to search through the yarn, find the numbers and transfer them into the bowls.

For older children, add the operation symbols from the Number Set and encourage them to make simple sums using the numbers they find.

Using tongs to retrieve the numbers adds an extra fine motor challenge, while matching numbers and creating sums introduces early maths concepts in a playful, hands-on way. 

Ready for Some Pumpkin Play? 

Pumpkins are a brilliant starting point for open-ended play, and you don't need lots of specialist resources to create something engaging. From sensory materials and natural treasures to simple craft supplies, everyday objects can become the starting point for exploring, creating and learning.

Whether you're enjoying these activities as part of an autumn or fall theme, getting ready for Halloween or simply looking for something fun to do together as a family, we hope these ideas inspire plenty of pumpkin-filled play!

For more seasonal inspiration, check out our 6 Simple Autumn & Fall Activities for Kids. And if you’re new to sensory play, sign up to our newsletter. You'll receive a FREE Beginner's Guide to Sensory Play along with weekly ideas and inspiration straight to your inbox. 

If you try any of these pumpkin activities, we’d love to see what you get up to! Tag us @inspiremyplay on Instagram so we can see your creations to share them with the Inspire My Play community.