Activities

Halloween Sensory Bins for Kids

Add sensory play to your list of Halloween activities with these easy sensory bin ideas for kids.

Celebrate the spooky season with Halloween sensory bins inspired by pumpkins, ghosts, bats, spiders, and skeletons! Kids can scoop, sort, pour, dig, and explore different textures, shapes, colors, and objects while practicing fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, focus, and imaginative play.

Sensory play can be open-ended, or adults can add simple learning challenges. Invite children to sort objects by color, count what they find, identify letters, describe different textures, or create an imaginative story with the materials. Always choose age-appropriate items and supervise young children, especially when small objects are included.

Learn more about the benefits of sensory play for kids and get an additional 15+ ideas for sensory play at home. If your child is learning their ABCs, try our alphabet sensory bin ideas for hands-on letter exploration.

Witch’s Cauldron Sensory Bin

Supplies:

• Large plastic bin or cauldron
• Green slime or water
• Green food coloring, if using water
• Plastic spiders and bugs
• Googly eyes or plastic eyeballs
• Small toy frogs and lizards
• Letter beads or magnets that spell “WITCH,” “CAULDRON,” “SLIME” or other words
• Wooden spoon ladle
• Small empty jars or containers for filling with “potions”

Instructions:

1. Mix green slime or water with potion “ingredients” like plastic spiders and bugs, googly eyes or plastic eyeballs, small toy frogs and lizards, and letter beads or magnets that spell out Halloween words for kids.
2. Add a wooden spoon for stirring, a ladle for scooping, and empty jars to fill with spooky “potions!”

Pumpkin Guts Sensory Bin

Supplies:

• Large plastic bin
• Pumpkin seeds and “guts” from inside the pumpkin
• Small chunks of fresh pumpkin
• Plastic spoons or other kid-safe utensils
• Small scoops
• Small cups or containers for filling and sorting
• Disposable gloves

Instructions:

1. Scoop out the insides of a pumpkin and put the “guts” in a bin along with the seeds. 
2. Cut small chunks of the pumpkin itself and mix those in as well. 
3. Provide plastic utensils and small cups for kids to scoop, fill, and sort out the seeds.
4. Kids and adults can wear disposable gloves to keep their hands clean if they’d like.

Gourds and Ghouls Sensory Bin

Supplies:

• Large plastic bin
• Dried black beans
• Candy corn
• Small pumpkins and gourds in different shapes and sizes
• Small Halloween toys, such as ghosts, witch hats, and monsters
• Small toy cauldrons
• Plastic pumpkin containers
• Small scoops or spoons for scooping and sorting

Instructions:

1. Fill the bin with dried black beans and candy corn. 
2. Add small pumpkins and gourds in a variety of shapes and sizes, plus small Halloween toys like ghosts, witch hats, monsters, etc. 
3. Give kids small cauldrons or plastic pumpkin containers for scooping and sorting.

Spooky Spider Web Sensory Bin

Supplies:

• Large plastic bin
• Stretchy cotton spiderweb material
• Plastic spiders
• Small toy flies, bats, bugs, or other Halloween creatures
• Kid-safe tweezers or small tongs
• Small cups or containers for sorting

Instructions:

1. Stretch and layer the cotton spiderweb material throughout the bin to create a thick, tangled web.
2. Hide plastic spiders, flies, bats, bugs, and other small Halloween creatures throughout the web.
3. Give kids tweezers or small tongs to carefully search through the spiderweb and pull out the hidden creatures.
4. Have kids place their finds into small cups or containers, sorting them by type, color, or size.
5. Add in math practice by counting how many of each item kids find.

Skeleton Dig Sensory Bin

Supplies:

• Large plastic bin
• Dirt or potting soil
• Small pebbles or rocks
• Toy skeletons and plastic bones
• Alphabet beads or magnets that spell “SKELETON,” “BONES,” and “SKULL.”
• Small toy insects or worms Small kid-safe shovels
• Plastic or wooden spoons
• Small toy coffins or containers for collecting the bones

Instructions:

1. Fill a bin with a mix of dirt and small pebbles. 
2. Mix in toy skeletons and bones, alphabet beads or magnets spelling “skeleton,” and small toy insects or worms. 
3. Give kids small shovels and spoons for digging and little toy coffins to hold the bones they dig up.

Monster Mash Sensory Bin

Supplies:

• Large plastic bin
• Colorful pom-poms in purple, green, orange, and black
• Googly eyes in different sizes
• Small plastic monster figures
• Foam monster shapes
• Letter beads or magnets spelling “MONSTER” and other related words.
• Small scoops or spoons
• Kid-safe tongs or tweezers
• Muffin cups or small bowls for sorting

Instructions:

1. Fill the bin with colorful pom-poms in Halloween colors like purple, green, orange, and black.
2. Mix in googly eyes, small monster figures, foam monster shapes, and letter beads or magnets that spell monster-related words.
3. Add small scoops, spoons, tongs, or tweezers for kids to use as they explore the bin.
4. Provide muffin cups or small bowls and encourage kids to scoop, collect, and sort the monster pieces by color, size, or type.

Ghostly Cloud Sensory Bin

Supplies:

• Large plastic bin
• Black crinkle paper or shredded paper
• Small plastic bats
• Toy rocks
• Plastic spiders
• Glow-in-the-dark stars
• Letter beads or magnets that spell “BAT” and “SPIDER
• Kid-safe tweezers or tongs
• Small scoops
• Flashlights
• Small cups or containers for collecting the bats

Instructions:

1. Fill the bin with black crinkle paper or shredded paper to create a dark, cave-like base.
2. Hide small plastic bats throughout the paper, then mix in toy rocks, spiders, glow-in-the-dark stars, and letter beads or magnets that spell your chosen words.
3. Add tweezers, tongs, and small scoops for kids to use as they search through the cave.
4. Give kids flashlights to shine into the bin and hunt for the bats and other hidden objects.
5. Have kids place the bats and other treasures they discover into small cups or containers, then hide everything again for another round of exploring.

Haunted Cemetary Sensory Bin

Supplies:

• Large plastic bin
• Kinetic sand
• Small pieces of cardboard for tombstones
• Black or gray marker
• Craft sticks or small twigs
• Cotton balls
• Black construction paper
• Small rocks or pebbles
• Toy skeletons or plastic bones, if available
• Small Halloween toys, if available
• Small spoons
• Measuring cups or small plastic cups
• Kid-safe paintbrushes

Instructions:

1. Fill the bottom of the bin with a thick layer of kinetic sand.
2. Cut simple tombstone shapes from cardboard and use a marker to decorate them. Stick them into the sand to create a miniature graveyard.
3. Add small twigs as spooky trees, rocks and pebbles for pathways, cotton balls for fog, and simple bat or ghost shapes cut from construction paper.
4. If you have small skeletons, plastic bones, or other Halloween toys, bury a few beneath the kinetic sand for kids to discover.
5. Add spoons, measuring cups, small plastic cups, and paintbrushes for digging, scooping, brushing away sand, and creating paths.
6. Let kids dig for hidden objects and rearrange the tombstones, rocks, twigs, and other pieces to build their own spooky graveyard scenes.

Halloween Eyeball Hunt Sensory Bin

Supplies:

• Large plastic bin
• Orange and purple water beads
• Plastic eyeballs in different colors and sizes
• Kid-safe tongs or tweezers
• Slotted spoons
• Small cups or containers
• Small toy cauldrons

Instructions:

1. Prepare the water beads according to the package directions, allowing them to soak in water until they are fully expanded. Drain off any excess water before adding them to the bin.
2. Fill the bin with the orange and purple water beads, then hide plastic eyeballs throughout.
3. Add kid-safe tongs, tweezers, and slotted spoons for kids to use to search for the hidden eyeballs.
4. Place small cups, containers, or toy cauldrons beside the bin and encourage kids to collect and sort the eyeballs by color or size.

Try More Fun Halloween Games and Activities

Keep kids entertained this Halloween with spooky crafts, snacks, and free printables! Make balloon bats, yarn pumpkins, and tasty treats, or play Halloween bingo. Download coloring pages, word lists, and more for extra festive fun.

MORE HALLOWEEN FUN HERE