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September 23, 2013

Halloween Sensory Play

A perfect sensory activity for Halloween.

Halloween Sensory Play ~ Gooey Spider Halloween Fun

Halloween is right around the corner and we are having a blast playing with our goop filled Halloween sensory bin. It’s wet, squishy, gooey and with the addition of a few spiders, it makes a perfect Halloween sensory play activity.  We had so much fun creating our Fall Centerpiece that we had to find another fun use for our squishy pulp!  I am so glad we did.

Halloween Sensory Play ~ Gooey Spider Halloween Fun

The kids loved scooping the goop with Halloween baskets and mini pumpkin buckets.

Halloween Sensory Play ~ Gooey Spider Halloween Fun

 As you can see, the texture of the pulp was so intriguing to the kids.  They dove right in up to their elbows with out hesitating.

Halloween Sensory Play ~ Gooey Spider Halloween Fun

 Kitchen strainers work great for scooping and draining the water.

Halloween Sensory Play ~ Gooey Spider Halloween Fun

 The kids had so much fun just simply transferring the wet mixture into buckets and then pouring it out.  I love letting the kids discover and play through fun sensory activities.  You might be surprised to learn that when I first had kids, I banded play-dough from our house.  Gasp!  Yep you read right.  I am so thankful that I let go as a parent and now embrace the joys of messy play.

Halloween Sensory Play ~ Gooey Spider Halloween Fun

The kids loved watching the pulp cling to the basket as the water dripped off.

Halloween Sensory Play ~ Gooey Spider Halloween Fun

The kids discovered that if they squished all the water out of the pulp, they could create an intriguing spider egg sack.  Super cool.  According to my daughter, Spiders rock.  Ha!  I may not have her love of spiders but I do love this simple spider web that we created.

Halloween Sensory Play ~ Gooey Spider Halloween Fun

Halloween Pulp Sensory Bin:

  • Scraps of orange paper ~ we used construction paper and off cuts of scrapbooking paper.  We raided our scrap paper bin of all the orange paper we could find.
  • Hot Water
  • Blender

Since essentially the bin is filled with wet paper, it is non toxic and totally safe for kiddos (All our paper was ink free).

Halloween Sensory Play ~ Gooey Spider Halloween Fun

Start by shredding your paper.  We cheated and used the paper shredder, but you could rip or cut your paper into tiny bits.  My kids love any chance they get to use the paper shredder, so this was the perfect excuse.

Once all the paper is cut into tiny pieces, place it in a heat safe container and pour boiling water over it.  You will only need to add just enough to cover the paper (please be careful with this step).  The hot water helps to break down the fibers in the paper making the next step easier.  Let this mixture sit for at least a few hours (ours was left over night).

Now you are ready to start blending the paper into a pulp.  We just used our regular kitchen blender and washed it out really well after we were done.  It is easiest to blend in small batches.  You may need to add more water to the blender.

Halloween Sensory Play ~ Gooey Spider Halloween Fun

Tips:

  • Once you created your pulp, you can place it into the fridge for a surprisingly cool sensory experience.
  • Add plastic baskets, cups and strainers to sift and pour with.
  • This mixture can last up to a week if stored in the fridge.
  • Since the mixture is just paper and water the clean-up is a breeze.

Halloween Sensory Play ~ Gooey Spider Halloween Fun

Had we no where to be, the kids would have played and squished in this simple mixture all day.  I love how easy it was to make, and the best part is…it was free!  I love finding new uses for our paper scraps!

We love creating seasonal activities.  Check our our latest fall and Halloween posts for more inspiration.

Related posts:

  1. DIY Halloween Wrapping Paper
  2. Fall leaf Craft for Kids
  3. Pumpkin Sensory Dough
  4. Spider Web Halloween Craft for Kids
Posted in Holidays and tagged Concoctions, Halloween, Paper Pulp, Play Recipe, sensory, Spider.

Welcome to Housing A Forest!
I would love for you to grab a cup of coffee and stay a while. You can read more about us or catch up on our favorite experiments, projects + art activities.

Related posts:

  1. DIY Halloween Wrapping Paper
  2. Fall leaf Craft for Kids
  3. Pumpkin Sensory Dough
  4. Spider Web Halloween Craft for Kids
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4 thoughts on “Halloween Sensory Play”

  1. Heather @ Crayon Box Chronicles on September 25, 2013 at 4:09 pm said:

    I am so fascinated by your genius creation – paper! I can’t wait to try this! Thanks for sharing today. 🙂

    Reply ↓
  2. Hilaree on September 29, 2013 at 11:12 pm said:

    What an amazing blog! Your photography is stunning. I’m a homeschooling mommy to three littles, ages 4, 7, and 9. I’ll be checking back often! Thanks!

    Reply ↓
    • Tammy on September 29, 2013 at 11:40 pm said:

      Thanks so much Hillaree, you totally made my night!

      Reply ↓
  3. kristen on October 11, 2013 at 9:02 am said:

    Hi, This looks awesome! I was wondering how much paper and water you used?

    Reply ↓

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