Some people think of Halloween as just another commercial holiday, not me! I find Halloween to be one of the best opportunities to explore sensory-based activities with kids.

For a couple of years, I dyed rice purple and orange and the kids loved it! Months later, we ultimately ended up mixing the Halloween batch of rice with other batches of dyed rice in order to make rainbow rice.

This year, I simply didn’t feel like investing the time to dye a new batch of Halloween rice. So, I wondered to the grocery store to buy some black Beans instead. I was shocked to see the perfect pack of orange beans to mix in with them!

As I pulled out my box of Halloween Toys, it was hard to tell who was more excited to play in the sensory bin, me or the kid! What I loved about this activity is there wasn’t any prep work necessary. No prep = more time to be present and in the moment, doing whatever you're doing. Below, you’ll see what the sensory bin looked like and some ideas around objects to include in your very own Halloween sensory bin:

Supply List

• ,Black Beans- $1.39
• ,Red Lentil Beans (they’re called “red” but appear orange uncooked”)- $1.29
• Candy Erasers (you can usually find these in the Target $1 section beginning in late August)
• ,Small Buckets- $5
• ,Squishy Accessories- $2.99 (I got them half off in-store)
• Extra Accessories (post-Halloween clearance toys)
• Scooper (or small measuring cups)

*Note: I tried this activity with kids ages 2-6, keep a careful eye on 2 yr olds because items used can be choking hazards if ingested.*

Step 1: Add Candy Erasers

First thing’s first, do kids actually use these erasers to erase? In elementary school, I always found these extremely ineffective in erasing without smudging my paper.

However, these are awesome accessories for Halloween sensory bins! Target also sells packs of these erasers that are small pumpkins. But, I’ve found that toddlers like the candy ones the best because it really brings to life the concept of trick-or-treating.

Step 2: Squishy Toys

Kids seemed to truly engage with these squishy and stretchy toys. (some kids called the purple and blue things worms and some called them caterpillars, I have no clue why they have bear faces, but they were a hit!)

Step 3: Extras

I added in a bunch of random Halloween tinker toys that I bought from Dollar General during their post-Halloween sale. These accessories included: pom-poms, eyeballs, spiders, and bats!

Step 4: Pour in the beans

Dramatically pour the beans over the toys. Depending on the age of your child, they might be perplexed at where the toys went. Two-year-olds usually say, “where the toys go?” And I respond, “they disappeared. Maybe they’re under the beans, can you find a [insert name of toy]?"

Step 5: Add Mini Buckets

These buckets aren’t a necessity but I like to offer them as an option for kids to collect the toys they find along the way.

Bonus Tip: Practice Counting

If your child has been working on counting, you can challenge them to collect 10 “candy corn pieces“, 5 “smarties”, and 15 “peppermints” or whatever your kid identifies the pieces as!

Please let me know if you try this activity with your kiddo, I sure hope you do!

Sincerely, Briesh

P.S. Stay Conscious + Curious