Pumpkin Patch Sensory Bin

We recently went to the pumpkin patch and picked out a bunch of "pump pumps", a hay bale, and a beautiful pot of mums to decorate our front door. Kingston seriously fell in love with the pumpkin patch. There were "pump pumps" everywhere and he wanted to stop to pat each one! Every time we walk in the house and pass the pumpkins he gets excited, so when I found this miniature pumpkins, gourds, and acorns at the store awhile back, I knew I had to get them for some fun sensory play. I put a bunch of hay from the back of our hay bale in the bottom of the bin and some leaves from our yard and we were in business! I absolutely love the way this sensory bin looks. It may be my favorite one that I have ever made!

K was immediately intrigued! He exclaimed "PUMP PUMP" and reached into the bin.

The pumpkins and gourds in the bin had to different textures for Kingston to explore: smooth and bumpy. He was drawn to the biggest of the tiny pumpkins, a bumpy one. He continuously turned it over and over in his hands whispering "pump pump" to it with an adorable little grin on his face. 

I reached into the bin and held up each different item and told him the name of it. We talked about the different colors in the bin and explored the different sounds that the objects made. K really enjoyed the crackling of the dry leaves and the crunching of the straw. He picked up the pumpkins and gourds and put them in different places throughout the pumpkin patch. I was happy to see that he made the sensory bin into a pretend play activity, interacting with it as if it were a real pumpkin patch.

Then Kingston stole the largest pumpkin out of the patch and took off with it laughing. He dragged it along the floor and walked it over to me, holding it out for me to examine. He was so giddy about it! 

He dug around in the sensory bin for a little while longer, before toddling off with the pumpkin laughing and showing off his new walking skills. 

Check out my little toddler showing off his moves!

This was such a fun sensory bin and cleanup was a cinch! Kingston helped me put most of the hay back in the basket, and we saved it to play with throughout the next week. 

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