How to Make a Pumpkin Sensory Bag

• Don’t throw the goop away when carving pumpkins—instead, make a pumpkin sensory bag!

• This fall craft is great for sensory play and helps toddlers and little kids work on their fine motor skills.

• Draw a jack-o’-lantern face on a gallon bag, fill it with pumpkin guts, then let your little one squish it around!

Fall is here and Halloween is fast approaching, which can only mean one thing. Pumpkins are popping up everywhere! You may have even gone to a pumpkin patch to pick out that perfectly shaped pumpkin to carve. You’ll come home, set it down on some newspaper and scoop out the goop. But then what? Most people throw the goop away, but not here at Pathways.org! Instead of just throwing away the pumpkin goop, create a pumpkin sensory bag. This is the perfect fall craft for little ones that is easy and they will love! Bonus: it also helps tune their fine motor skills and sensory play!

Here is how to get started on creating this fun and easy craft.

Materials Needed:

• Pumpkin

• Gallon-size sealable plastic bag

• Permanent marker

• Tape

Pumpkin Sensory Bag Directions:

1. After you cut open the pumpkin and take the top off, you can have your child look at the contents inside. They may not be too keen on touching the inside, but this bag is the perfect way to introduce the different parts of the pumpkin without having to actually touch the goopy insides.

2. Draw a jack-o’-lantern face on the bag! As the bag fills up, it will look like another pumpkin is coming to life!

3. Scoop out the inside of the pumpkin into a gallon-size plastic bag.

4. Once the goop is inside the bag, seal it with some tape at the top for extra security!

5. Now comes the fun part! Have your child play with the bag:

Play With the Sensory Bag

Your child can squish around the goop in the bag, which is great for their sense of touch and understanding what the inside of a pumpkin feels like.

You can also have your child count how many seeds are in the bag, push the seeds around, or trace the outline of the jack o lantern face. Pushing seeds around and tracing the shapes of the jack-o’-lantern face helps with children’s fine motor skills!

Many kids will love squishing the pumpkin goop around, but some kids may be hesitant to touch the actual goop. This is a great way to introduce the contents of a pumpkin without them actually having to touch it or getting overly messy!