30 Leaf Sensory Activities - Leaf Activities for Kids

Sensory activities are a great way to explore the world around us. Sensory play is so important for kids because it helps them develop motor skills, spatial awareness, and creativity. Here are over 30 fun leaf sensory activities you can do with your little one this fall.

Leaf Sensory Activities

You’re never too old to take a leaf nature walk. The autumn season is perfect for this exploration because leaves tend to be more plentiful and colorful than during other times of the year. Incorporating leaves into your sensory play during autumn is a terrific way to explore and observe nature together.

From relaxing leaf sensory bottles to exciting leaf-themed sensory bins and even leaf slime, you’ll find many fun things to do with your toddlers and preschoolers.

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Leaf Sensory Activities for Kids

Fall Sensory Bin

Let your toddlers and preschoolers explore the textures, sounds, smells, colors, and sights of autumn with a fun fall sensory bin. We included leaves, mini pumpkins, acorns, popcorn kernels, cinnamon sticks, pom-poms, and more in our gorgeous autumn sensory bin. You can use real or faux leaves, but the faux leaves hold up better than real ones while the kids are scooping, pouring, and digging through the bin.

Fall Slime Recipe

How stunning is this fall slime made with leaf table scatter, sequins, glitter, and an easy clear slime recipe? Squishing, squeezing, and stretching slime is a relaxing activity for kids, and they can enjoy this leaf-inspired slime all fall long.

Autumn Scented Salt Dough

The leaves are changing colors, and there’s a chill in the air. What better way to celebrate this season than by making a batch of scented salt dough? It’s perfect for all ages – from toddlers right up to us moms who want to get crafty – so gather your supplies, roll up your sleeves, and let’s get your hands into enjoying this autumn-scented dough!

Fun Leaf Sensory Activities for Fall

Fall Snow Globe from thesoccermomblog.com: Snow globes aren’t just for winter. This fall snow globe will become a favorite piece of your fall decor, and it’s easy enough for kids to make! Grab some sticks or a branch from your backyard (small enough to fit a mason jar), and add fall leaf confetti. It’ll be so relaxing watching the leaves drift through the liquid.

Autumn Leaves Sensory Bin from stayathomeeducator.com: Add some autumn-colored silk leaves to a bin for your toddler or preschooler to play with. You can also make this bin with real leaves. The silk leaves are softer and hold up to more play, but real leaves provide a crunchy texture. Try it both ways! You’ll also want to add some acrylic leaves and foil confetti leaves to the mix to make it extra colorful and fun.

Mess-Free Fall Leaf Painting from kidscraftroom.com: This autumn art idea is sealed away in a zip-top bag so that little hands don’t get messy. That’s a total win for moms! Add paint in fall colors to the bag, cover with a leaf template, and let those little hands go to work “painting” the leaf.

Fun Sensory Activities

Leaf Sensory Bags from kidscraftroom.com: Real fall leaves, confetti, glitter, oil, and a few other materials combine to make these leaf sensory bags that are so much fun to play with. They’re terrific for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers; if you have older kids, they can help assemble the bags for the little ones.

Fall Leaves Sensory Jar from thechaosandtheclutter.com: This gorgeous fall sensory jar doubles as a decoration! The yellow glitter glue and maple leaf confetti look beautiful inside the jar. The pinecones on the lid add to the decorative look and also add texture for little hands to explore.

All Natural Leaf Threading from kidscraftroom.com: Get some fine motor practice with this fun leaf threading activity using sticks, twine, and real leaves. Thread them together to make a lovely garland to display on the mantle. You’ll need leaves that are still soft and malleable for this project; dried leaves won’t work for threading.

Fall Leaves Sensory Bottle from messylittlemonster.com: Here’s another fun and simple sensory activity using only a few materials—a sensory bottle, clear glue, water, and foil leaves. Doesn’t it look stunning? Shake the bottle or turn it upside down to watch the leaves slowly float through the bottle.

Leaf Sensory Activities Preschool

Glitter Leaf Sensory Bottle from firefliesandmudpies.com: Here’s another sensory bottle idea that’s easy to make. It’s also stunning! It’s made with clear glue and glitter with leaf stickers applied to the bottle’s exterior. Watch the glitter drift through the bottle, providing a beautiful backdrop for the leaves.

Sensory Nature Cutting Tray from kidscraftroom.com: Put all sorts of fall leaves into a cutting tray for kids to practice their scissor skills! This is a fun way to manipulate and play with leaves. You could use the pieces to make some leaf confetti art, too.

Leaf Activities for Kids

Toddler Fall Sensory Bag from myboredtoddler.com: Create a squishy sensory bag for your toddler with a zip-top bag, hair gel, and fall-themed items like acorns, pinecones, leaves, and more.

Toddler Fall Sensory Bin from powerfulmothering.com: This super simple sensory bin is made with leaves and acorns, and you can use real ones or fake ones, depending on what you have on hand! It’s a great way to explore leaf shapes and the gorgeous colors of fall.

Fall Leaf No-Mess Painting in a Bag from lifeovercs.com: Squish and mix paint in a bag to create a fun leaf painting. This activity is great for babies and toddlers, but even your preschoolers will enjoy it.

Fall Leaves Slime from thechaosandtheclutter.com: Here’s another beautiful slime recipe for fall, incorporating foil leaves and glitter into a beautiful clear glue slime recipe. This one is made with maple leaf foil confetti!

Leaf Activities for Preschoolers

Fall Sensory Sorting from theeducatorsspinonit.com: Sort leaves (acorns and seeds) and compare and contrast them! This and four other simple leaf activities are included here that are fun and educational for kids.

Fall Sensory Bin and Learning Activities from fantasticfunandlearning.com: This fall sensory bin includes many items that you can find from the Dollar Tree, like fake fall leaves, raffia, mini pumpkins, and pom-poms. Some ways to use this aside from the sensory function are by asking kids to identify objects, colors, numbers of objects, etc.

Autumn Playdough Activity from messylittlemonster.com: Grab some brown playdough and fall leaves to start making beautiful fall trees with your toddlers and preschoolers. This is such a fun and simple activity for little ones! Make fall trees as small or as big as you’d like.

Cinnamon Autumn Playdough and Leaf Activity from nurturestore.co.uk: Pair this homemade cinnamon playdough with autumn leaves for a fun, smell-good activity. Make leaf prints in the playdough using leaves of different shapes and sizes.

Sensory Activities for Kids

Pudding Playdough Leaf Activity from steampoweredfamily.com: Make pudding playdough, and bring out your toy trees and leaf confetti to set up a gorgeous fall scene. Kids could also grab some sticks or small branches to serve as the trees in the playdough.

Fall Sensory Jars from funlittles.com: Make some fall sensory jars to display and observe! Use real leaves, silk leaves, sticks, colored water, and more to display the beautiful colors of fall.

Fall Leaves Playdough Invitation from sugarspiceandglitter.com: Set up a playdough invitation for the kids using faux leaves, acrylic leaves, real leaves, and leaf cookie cutters. There are so many ways to make playdough leaves using these materials!

Raking Fall Leaves Sand Play from myboredtoddler.com: Raking leaves in the fall is typical for most families in four seasons climates, but if you don’t have any leaves on the ground, this sand and leaves raking activity is just as much fun. It’s a great way for kids to practice their motor skills, too.

Salt Dough Leaves from thelifeofjenniferdawn.com: Make beautiful salt dough leaves to hang in your windows or on an autumn tree that you display in your home. Add some cinnamon to the mix if you want to add an additional sensory element.

Leaf Activity for Kids

Fall Leaf Sensory Writing Tray from theimaginationtree.com: Set up this leaf-themed sensory writing tray for your preschoolers and kindergarteners to practice their letters! This is a fun pre-writing activity, but even if your kids can put pencil to paper, it’s still way more fun to practice letter formation this way.

Red Leaf Yellow Leaf Sensory Bin from stirthewonder.com: Focus on learning and exploring red and yellow colors with this red leaf, yellow leaf sensory bin. Kids can sort, scoop, and play with leaves for hours!

Fall Leaves Sensory Soup from andnextcomesl.com: Acrylic leaves and colored water make a wonderful sensory soup for kids to stir, mix, and pour. This is a great activity for practicing with a whisk, too.

Leaf Sort and Sensory Bottles from dayswithgrey.com: Recycle some jars and sort your leaves and other nature findings to create themed sensory bottles. The one with the pine branches is our favorite here!

Natural Playdough Recipes

Chamomile Playdough Recipe

Lavender Playdough Recipe

This natural lavender play dough is a fun sensory play idea for you and your kids to enjoy. It also provides a calming scent. Making this dough from scratch means no unnatural materials, too. Everyone loves this dough!

This page is full of sensory activities that are perfect for fall. Whether you want to create a fun and hands-on activity for home or school, these 30 leaf sensory activities will inspire your creativity!

If you have any more ideas on using leaves in the home or classroom this year, be sure to share them with us below. Happy Fall!

30 Leaf Sensory Activities – Leaf Activities for Kids