Additional Needs

Autumn Activities for the Senses

Posted by Naomi Aldridge on 29th November 2021 Additional Needs, Advice & Support

Share this article

Autumn is such a wonderful time of year for sensory play. It really is the easiest time to incorporate all the senses into activities. We have had so much fun exploring autumn that we wanted to share some of our favourite activities with you.

Touch

We tried something a little different this autumn and used some different coloured pasta shapes. I found them in the supermarket. They were lovely colours, browns, yellows, oranges and a lovely dark purple colour. We added them to a tray and then hid some pinecones in them. Super easy but makes a lovely sound on the tray when moved and the different textures gave great sensory feedback.

Smell

Scented playdough is perfect for this time of year. We added some mixed spice to our playdough which gave a lovely extra sensory experience. We also added cinnamon sticks to play with, dried pasta and googly eyes meaning we could make wonderful sensory hedgehogs.

Taste

We had so much fun enjoying hot chocolates together. This always warms us up on an autumn walk or when we get home. Ethan has to have his dairy-free and thickened but we have adapted it so he can still join in. If your child doesn't eat orally why not add some hot chocolate powder to a tray and allow them to explore in the powder smelling it and getting the aroma that way.

Sound

We really enjoyed playing an animal sound game. You could tailor this yourself to just animals you find in the autumn, but we enjoyed all of the animals as I always think of animals in the autumn! Some off to hibernate, some scurrying around collecting food for the winter and some hunting for their food in the wide oceans.

Sight

We love to take a beautiful autumnal walk through the woods to explore all the leaves on the trees. There is so much to see and explore. All the colours are wonderful. Allow the children to touch the bushes, pick up the leaves, scrunch through the leaves on the floor. We always collect leaves and post a stick through them so they are easy to carry. At home, we put some fairy lights in amongst our leaves that we found and had a good explore with an added visual experience with them.