Crafts and Activities

How to Make Pumpkin Slime

If you’re looking to make a Hallowe’en slime that’s not too scary, this pumpkin slime is a great choice. It’s festive and fun but still good for preschoolers. Once you learn how to make pumpkin slime, you’ll be able to easily make it anytime.

Looking for a creepier version of Hallowe’en slime? You might want to check out our spider web slime or make some glow-in-the-dark slime. Slime is a great addition to a classroom party or an October gathering.

Pumpkin Slime Recipe:

Supplies needed:

1 6 oz. bottle Elmer’s clear glue*
1/4 to 1/2 cup warm water, as needed
1/4 to 1/2 cup liquid starch, as needed
orange food dye
pumpkin confetti

*Note: You can use other brands of clear glue, but in my experience, Elmer’s washable clear school glue gives the best results for slime.

Directions:

Pour the bottle of clear glue into a medium-sized bowl.
Stir in 1/4 cup warm water using a fork.
Add 1/4 cup liquid starch. Stir well for 2 minutes or so.
Mix in a drop or two of orange food dye.
If the slime is too stiff, add more water. If it’s too sticky, add more liquid starch.
Continue stirring until the slime forms into a ball.
Knead for about 2 minutes, adding more water or liquid starch if necessary to reach the desired consistency.
Once the slime is stretchy and no longer sticky, knead in the pumpkin confetti.

Slime should be stored in an airtight container or sealed bag when it’s not being played with. Be sure to wash hands thoroughly after handling slime.

Variations of pumpkin slime:

Instead of pumpkin confetti, mix in actual pumpkin seeds.
Skip the orange food dye and keep the slime clear. Depending on which confetti you use, it may dye the slime orange over time anyway.
The stretchy pumpkin slime is a good one to use for our Halloween sensory game.

As with all sensory play recipes, adult supervision is recommended.

Check out these other Hallowe’en slimes:

Spider Web Slime

Black Glitter Slime Glow-in-the-Dark Slime

Halloween Sensory Bottle

By Sharla Kostelyk

When we think of Halloween, we may think of dark, black, or scary, but the October holiday can also be celebrated with cheerful colours like purple and orange. That’s what I like about this Halloween sensory bottle. This is a simple activity to do in a preschool class or at home. Because the glitter and confetti travel slowly through the glue and water, it makes a great calm down bottle for kids to observe when their emotions get too big.

Halloween Sensory Bottle:

Supplies needed:

1 (16 oz.) plastic bottle
2-3 bottles Elmer’s Glue in clear, 6 oz. each
approximately 1 cup warm water
Halloween foil confetti
orange glitter
orange and purple sequins
plastic aquarium rocks, orange and purple
optional: hot glue
optional: washi tape or duct tape

Directions:

Empty one bottle of clear glue into the plastic bottle.
Fill the empty glue bottle about half full with warm water and seal with the lid. Shake well to combine the remaining glue with the water. Pour into jar with glue and shake to combine.
Add some of the glitter, sequins, and aquarium rocks.
Seal the jar and shake well. If the glitter or confetti do not move easily, add more warm water. If the glitter or confetti move too quickly, add additional glue. Continuing adding in layers of water and glue with the glitter, sequins, and orange and purple rocks until you achieve the desired effect.
When the contents of the bottle move the way you want them to, seal the bottle with the lid.
You can use a hot glue gun to secure the lid in place to avoid spills.
If you want to make the sensory bottle more festive, you can cover the lid with Halloween themed washi tape or glow in the dark duct tape.

Are you looking for more easy sensory play ideas? Join us for a five day email series on Sensory Activities and Solutions and get a free sample of our Sensory Play Recipes eBook.

Check out these other Halloween sensory ideas:

Black Glitter Slime perfect for Halloween

Hallowe’en Sensory Game Spider Emotions Matching Game

Spider Web Slime

Black Glitter Slime Easy Recipe

By Sharla Kostelyk

Use this easy recipe to make your own black glitter slime. It’s great for Hallowe’en or just for sensory play. The glitter gives it a unique look.

If you’re looking for a fun Hallowe’en activity that uses slime, check out our Hallowe’en Sensory Game for kids. It’s easy to put together and great for the classroom or for parties.

Black Glitter Slime Recipe:

Supplies needed:

1 (6 oz.) bottle black glitter glue
¼ cup warm water
½ tsp. baking soda
1½ Tbsp. contact lens solution that contains boric acid
1 Tbsp glitter (if you want a more glittery slime)
optional: pumpkin confetti

Directions:

Empty the black glitter glue into a medium sized bowl.
Add 1/4 cup warm water to the empty glue bottle and seal with the lid. Shake well to combine the remaining glue with the water.
Pour into the bowl with the glue and stir to combine.
Add the baking soda to the glue and stir to mix thoroughly.
If you are adding extra glitter or confetti, stir them into the glue mixture at this point.
Add contact lens solution to the glue mixture and stir well.
Remove the slime from the bowl allowing any excess liquid to remain in the bowl. The slime will be sticky. Begin to play with the slime, kneading it as if it were bread dough, to bring the slime together. The slime is ready when it is no longer sticky.

Note: Glitter glue requires more contact lens solution than making slime with regular clear or white glue. Add the contact lens solution slowly, mixing between additions, and add only enough to bring the glue together into a soft ball.

Slime should be stored in an airtight container or resealable bag when not being played with.

Possible Variations of Glitter Slime:

To make this black slime more appropriate for Hallowe’en, you can add different types of Hallowe’en confetti.
You can change the look of this slime by adding different colours of glitter.
Try adding tiny Hallowe’en themed erasers.

Are you looking for more easy sensory play recipes to try? Join us for a five day email series on Sensory Activities and Solutions and get a free sample of our Sensory Play Recipes eBook.

You might also be interested in checking out these other easy slime recipes:

Camo Fluffy Slime Googly Eyed Monster Slime

Stretchy Butterfly Slime

Pumpkin Emotions Game

By Sharla Kostelyk

This bingo style five in a row pumpkin emotions game provides a fun way for kids to learn about emotions. Because of the pumpkin theme, it is good for using in the Fall, around Hallowe’en, or even Thanksgiving.

As kids roll the different emotions, they can name what they are. They can then think of a time when they may have felt that emotion themselves. This will help children be able to better identify their feelings.

Pumpkin Emotions Game:

Two to four people can play this game at one time.

Supplies needed:

printed game cube and game sheets (you can download those sheets here)
scissors
glue or tape
markers, pencil crayons, or crayons
orange buttons, beads, or bingo dabbers to use as place markers (or you can colour them in)

Directions:

Print the pages. Print as many game sheets as needed for the number of people playing.
Colour the game die (optional).
Assemble the game die with instructions (provided on the die page).

Game Play:

Colour in the “Free Space.”
Roll the die.
Look at the emotion the die landed on. Give an example of when you feel that emotion. For example, if you roll “excited,” you can say, “I feel excited when I am going to go swimming!”
After you call out your example, colour in or cover the corresponding spot on your board. The first person to cover or colour five pictures in a row, wins.

Some children may find it more challenging than others to think of scenarios when they have felt a particular emotion. It’s okay for you to step in and give them verbal prompts to help them or to share one of your own examples.

To get a free printable copy of this game to use with your child or students, enter your email in the box below.

You may also be interested in reading:

Thankfulness Game for Kids

Spider Emotions Matching Game

Activities to Teach Kids About Emotions

Apple Tree Colour and Counting Playdough Game

By Sharla Kostelyk

Playdough is one of my favourite sensory materials. It lends itself well to all kinds of fine motor practise and leaning opportunities. As you may know by now, learning through sensory play is something I am a big advocate for. This apple tree colour and counting playdough game is a great example of that.This easy activity is suitable for preschoolers who are just learning these concepts or even for children in Kindergarten or early elementary to help reenforce colour and counting concepts.

Apple Tree Colour and Counting Playdough Game:

Supplies needed:

red, yellow, green, and brown playdough (you can use store bought or make your own)
number dice
colour dot dice

Directions:

Form the trunk of the tree using brown playdough by rolling it into a long rope. If you don’t have brown playdough, you can mix equal parts orange and blue playdough to create kind of a grey-brown.
Tear off sections of the green playdough and flatten them out. These will form the leaves of the tree.
Invite your child to place the leaves on the tree trunk.
Have your child roll small balls of yellow, red, and green playdough. These will be the apples.
Set out one colour dot dice and one standard number dice.
Have the child roll both dice.
Encourage them to count the number on the dice and name the colour shown on the other dice.
The child can then add that number of “apples” to the tree in the colour that was rolled.

Sensory and Learning Opportunities:

Through the tearing, shaping, rolling, and squeezing of the playdough, the visual, tactile, and proprioceptive sensory systems are engaged.

Kids get fine motor practise by shaping the small “apples” and carefully placing them on the tree.

This playdough game is a great way to learn or reenforce colours as the child matches what is rolled on the colour block dice to the coloured balls.

Early math skills are worked on both by counting up the numbers on the dice and by counting out the corresponding amount of balls to place on the apple tree.

If more than one child plays this game at a time, it can also work on social skills such as turn taking and encouragement.

Vocabulary and communication are also improved in children by playing games such as these.

Colour Dot Dice Regular Dice Play-Doh Modelling Compound

Get a set of free printable alphabet playdough mats by entering your email address below. You’ll also be signed up to receive our email series Sensory Activities and Solutions.
You may also be interested in these playdough activities:

Rainbow Colour and Counting Playdough Game

Rainbow Playdough Fine Motor Activity

Transportation Alphabet Playdough Mats (free)

How to Dye Noodles for Sensory Play

By Sharla Kostelyk

Remember the days of making macaroni necklaces at school to present to your mom for Mother’s Day? Coloured pasta is just as fun now as it was back then! Once you learn how to dye noodles, you can use them for sensory play or a variety of other activities with kids. In our house, we do a lot of sensory play. I keep a variety of materials on hand for this including dyed noodles and dyed rice. Read our instructions on how to dye rice.

How to Dye Noodles:

Supplies needed:

macaroni noodles (or other small noodle)
food colouring*
rubbing alcohol or white vinegar
plastic resealable sandwich bags (you’ll need one for each colour that you want to make
paper towel lined baking tray

*A note about the food colouring: You can use regular food colouring or for more vibrant colours, you can use Wilton food gel.

Directions:

Add 1 cup of dry noodles to each zipper bag. Do not seal the bags yet.
Pour 1 Tbsp. rubbing alcohol or 2 tsp. vinegar into each bag.
Into each bag, drop 10-20 drops of one colour of food colouring.
Seal the bag well.
Mix the noodles around in the bag by moving with your hands and shaking gently until they are is evenly coloured.
Open the bags and pour each colour of macaroni (or other noodle shape) onto a tray to dry.
Check on the macaroni noodles during the drying process and stir around to ensure the noodles are drying properly. It can take several hours for them to dry. I usually leave mine overnight to be sure.
The coloured noodles are now ready to be used in sensory play.
When not in use, store your dyed pasta in an airtight container or sealed bag.

You can now use your brightly coloured noodles for art activities, preschool crafts, stringing onto yarn to make a necklace, or all kinds of sensory play. Dyed noodles make a great sensory bin filler or can be used in sensory bags or sensory bottles. You can make a simple sensory bottle by filling an empty bottle with coloured noodles or you can make an I-Spy type bottle by “hiding” other items in among the noodles for kids to find.

This method can be used to dye pasta of any shape. For larger noodles, you may find that you need slightly more food colouring. I find that you get the best colour results from using small pastas such as orzo, mini shells, Alphabet noodles, and macaroni.

Some schools don’t allow food to be used in classrooms for play. If that’s the case, we also have a list of non-food sensory bin fillers.

Looking for other sensory play recipes to create fun options for your kids? Join us for a free five day email series on Sensory Activities and Solutions and get a free sample of our Sensory Play Recipes eBook.

You may also want to read:

How to Dye Rice for Sensory Play

Frog Sensory Bin with Dyed Pasta

Sensory Bin Fillers and Tools