10 Autumn Tuff Trays | Easy Sensory Play Ideas
Here are 10 simple and educational Tuff Tray activities that are perfect for this fall season
10 Easy Nature PLAYtrays - AUTUMN
1. Balancing Pumpkins on Tape
Learning through Play: This activity helps children develop coordination and problem-solving skills by balancing pumpkins on strips of tape.
How to Play: Place strips of tape across your Tuff Tray. Provide various sizes of mini pumpkins and challenge your kids to balance them on the tape without letting them fall off.
2. Floating Pumpkin Boats
Learning through Play: Kids can explore basic physics concepts such as buoyancy and density while playing with pumpkin boats.
How to Play: Cut small pumpkins into halves, scoop them out, and use them as little boats in a tray filled with water. Kids can add small objects to see how much weight each pumpkin boat can hold before it sinks.
3. Pumpkin Flower Designs
Learning through Play: This activity encourages creativity and fine motor skills as kids weave flowers using elastic bands
around pumpkins.
How to Play: Wrap elastic bands around a pumpkin and give children colorful artificial flowers to weave underneath the bands to decorate their pumpkin flowers.
4. Pinecone and Playdough Patterns
Learning through Play: Children get to explore textures and create patterns by embedding pinecones into playdough.
How to Play: Provide playdough and pinecones. Kids can press and roll the pinecones into the playdough to make different patterns and discuss the textures they notice.
5. Sorting Nature’s Treasures
Learning through Play: This sorting game helps children learn to categorize based on characteristics like color, size, or type.
How to Play: Use tape to create sections within the tray. Mix various natural items like leaves and small pumpkins, and let the children sort them into the designated areas.
6. Making Pumpkin Soup
Learning through Play: This pretend play activity is great for sensory exploration and understanding mixtures.
How to Play: In a bowl, mix water with orange paint or food dye and add a spoonful of flour or cornstarch to thicken it. Encourage kids to mix their "soup," adding natural elements like leaves or sticks to make it more interesting.
7. Crafting an Autumn Vase|
Learning through Play: Kids practice their weaving skills and creativity by making a decorative vase.
How to Play: Provide a piece of cardboard with pre-poked holes ( use a pen or chopstick). Kids can use real or artificial flowers, weaving them through the holes to create a vibrant autumn vase.
8. Balancing Pinecones and Pumpkins
Learning through Play: This activity tests kids' ability to balance and build using simple materials.
How to Play: Use empty paper towel rolls as bases to build towers. Children stack the rolls and then try to balance pinecones and small pumpkins on top.
9. Weaving Flowers into a Nature Web
Learning through Play: Children develop spatial awareness and motor skills by creating a web and decorating it with natural elements.
How to Play: Construct a web with three sticks and yarn. Let kids weave flowers and leaves into the web, making their own natural art piece.
10. Washing and Scrubbing Pumpkins
Learning through Play: This practical life activity introduces children to simple chores and hygiene while they clean pumpkins.
How to Play: Provide water, soap, and brushes, and let the kids wash the dirt off the pumpkins, discussing the importance of keeping things clean and the different textures they feel.
The activities in this blog were created by Kamilla, an Early Years Educator and founder of Learning Through PLAYtrays®. Our family designed a high-quality sensory play tray in 2024 to help educators, parents, and little learners explore open-ended play in a meaningful way. Questions? Reach out anytime- Kamilla@playtraylearning.com
FREE TPT RESOURCES
Looking for some autumn, pumpkin, or Halloween-themed free digital resources to print and add into your play tray?
Did you know Kamilla has created over 300+ digital resources during her teaching years?
🎃 View our free Autumn resources to get started and bring seasonal magic to your sensory play setup!
