Where Play Meets Potential
Woohoo it’s Autumn! I am loving the Fall colors and the Fall temperatures. It is finally cooling off here in Las Vegas, but we are still playing in water and enjoying the outside more.
A perfect water play activity for the season is Autumn Soup. Ruby loved when we made potions using spices (check that out HERE), so I thought I would take that idea and create an Autumn soup sensory activity.
If you are also looking for more water play ideas to enjoy no matter the season, then check out my post “50 Water Play Ideas.”
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This activity was super simple to set up, especially since I had bought a bunch of Fall items at the dollar store already to create some Fun and Frugal Fall Activities for Toddlers. And, honestly, you can use stuff you find in your home or find outside.
Some of the materials we used were:
Other suggestions might include:
Ruby (15 months) absolutely loved playing with this Autumn soup. This kept her entertained and engaged for about 30 or so minutes.
She especially loved to taste the spices and pour using the plastic jar. She did lots of scooping, pouring, transferring, smelling, tasting, lifting, banging, more pouring, and more tasting.
She did get very wet and so did the ground so make sure you have this activity in a place you don’t mind getting wet like outside or on a waterproof mat.
There is so much learning that happens during sensory play, especially if you can integrate more than one or two senses. With this activity you have tactile, visual, olfactory and taste, auditory, and proprioception sensory play. Let me break that down for you a little further.
Tactile
This is what you can touch. So in this activity, Ruby was feeling the sensation of water and its properties (liquid, cool temperature, splashes, etc.). She was also feeling the textures of the different materials like the bumpy pinecone, the smooth pumpkin, the wooden spoon, and the thin leaves.
Visual
This is what you can see. I added colored water for something to see, but there are also elements including watching how things pour, how things hit the floor or other objects, looking through clear containers.
Olfactory and Taste
This is smell and taste and they are linked together. I added the spices to add on olfactory and taste to this sensory experience. Ruby loves tasting things. You can find more edible sensory play ideas HERE.
Auditory
This is hearing and making sounds. With this activity Ruby loved to bang the spoon or drop the items just to hear the different sounds they make. She also loves to make sounds into containers (it creates an echo or megaphone type sound).
Proprioception
You may not have heard of this sense, but it is crucial for healthy sensory development. Proprioception is how we can move through space. Where is my body in relation to the sensory table? How far do I need to reach to grab the pinecone? How fast/slow do I need to move when the water is wet under my feet? How do I turn my arms/hands to pour the water? All of these and more are included in proprioception and sensory play is a great way to support that sense development.
You can learn more about the importance of sensory play HERE.
In conclusion, this activity is super easy to set up, very affordable if not free to create, and provides so much fun alongside learning and development. If you are looking for more fun and frugal Fall activities, then I suggest starting HERE with a big list of all sorts of Fall fun.
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