Halloween Sensory Box : Color sorting pumpkins & spiders

This easy Halloween sensory box for kids with autism is so much fun. Build sensory skills, fine motor skills, communication skills & color sorting skills with this quick sensory box! Try this Fall Sensory Bin next!

This Halloween sensory box is one of our favorite sensory activities this time of year at my learning center for children with autism.

To make this Halloween sensory box, you will need :

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• orange and black pompoms
• a small scoop and/or tweezers (I love these mini wooden scoops)
• a shoebox or other small bowl or box
• a pack of dried pasta (I used mini elbow macaroni)

Steps to use this Halloween sensory box with your child

Step 1

Prepare your activity by filling the box or bowl with the package of dried pasta.

Step 2

Put an equal number of orange pompoms in the box (your pumpkins) and black pompoms (your spiders).

Related : Build your child’s communication skills in a fun sensory way with this workbook

This activity has three goals

1. Provide sensory input.
2. Teach your child to sort by color.
3. Help your child build fine motor skills : hand strength and precision.

Sensory Play

Have your child put his or her hands into the box, touch the pasta, touch the pompoms and get comfortable manipulating the scoop.

Related : 10 Sensory Toys Every Autistic Child Needs at Home

Teach sorting by color

This is a fun and easy color sorting activity to teach your child to sort by color.

Your child will learn to separate the orange pompoms from the black pompoms in the activity.

Give the instruction “gather all the orange pompoms” and “gather all the black pompoms”.

You could also prepare an orange plate or cup and a black plate or cup so that your child knows exactly where to put each color pompom once he or she has found them in the sensory box.

Kids with autism tend to appreciate clear instructions and activity rules so make sure the instructions you give are as clear as possible.

Build fine motor strength & precision

By using the scoop, your child will learn to twist his or her wrist while picking up small objects.

This builds wrist strength and also helps your child learn to control his or her fine motor movements more easily.

This is often an area of weakness for kids with special needs who have motor difficulties.

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