🍂 Explore the Smells and Textures of Fall! 🍎
Fall is here! It is a wonderful time to explore the season using our senses. Children can discover fall through smelling, touching, and exploring real objects.
👃🤲 Create Your Own Fall Sensory Containers
Gather a few clean, empty plastic containers with secure lids. Recycled containers, such as spice containers or small plastic containers, work well.
First, wash the containers thoroughly and make sure they are clean and dry.
Add one fall item to each container. Here are some ideas:
🍂 Cotton balls with a little cinnamon or a cinnamon stick
🍎 A piece of fresh apple with a small amount of apple pie spice
🍁 Leaves gathered from outside
🎃 A spoonful of canned pumpkin
Give the child time to explore each container at their own pace. They can smell the container, touch the objects when appropriate, and feel the differences between the materials.
Adults can help by offering simple choices and describing what the child is experiencing:
“This smells like cinnamon.”
“The leaf feels dry and bumpy.”
“The apple feels smooth and cool.”
“Do you want to smell this one again?”
The child can communicate their likes and dislikes in whatever way works best for them—through gestures, facial expressions, signs, symbols, AAC, movements, or other familiar forms of communication.
📚 A Book to Pair With the Activity
This activity pairs beautifully with The Smell of Fall: A Smells of the Seasons Book by Mary Ann Hake.
The story follows April, a blind girl who experiences autumn through her sense of smell. It provides an opportunity to talk about how people can experience and learn about the world in different ways.
For a child who is deafblind, consider making the story even more interactive by pairing it with real objects and scents from the story. As you read, offer an apple, a leaf, cinnamon, or another familiar item for the child to explore.
Fall is full of things to discover. Let's slow down, explore together, and experience the season through our senses! 🍂🍎🎃
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