Pumpkin Goop - A Natural Sensory Kids Activity for Fall

Use real pumpkin for fall sensory play with this new recipe - Pumpkin Goop!

I love seasonal crafts and play activities with my kids. I think these activities are especially meaningful to toddlers and preschoolers who have a need lots of hands on activities, but my lower elementary school age kids loved this too!

By doing seasonal crafts you are starting to give them an understanding of seasons and calendar time. Plus, let’s face it, it’s just plain fun! Here is our Pumpkin Sensory Play with Goop!

How to Make Pumpkin Goop

cooking the pumpkin to make pumpkin goop

As you probably already know, I’m thrifty.

I like to reuse things for several purposes. So I just hated wasting the inner “guts” of the pumpkins we carved.

We use some of the seeds to make our Caramelized Pumpkin Seeds (yum!), but this year I took all the goop and some of the seeds to make pumpkin goop to play with my toddler.

I put all the the stringy stuff, pumpkin, and seeds into a big stock pot. Then I sprinkled it with about 1/4 cup cornstarch (to thicken it up) and let it cook into mush over medium-low heat for 15 minutes. Then I smashed it up with a mashed potato smasher until it was mostly smooth and then I took it off the heat to allow it to cool before the kid played with it.

Pumpkin Goop Sensory Play

When the Pumpkin Goop was just slightly warm to the touch I scooped it back into a pumpkin for

some warm sensory play!

it was a huge hit with toddler, kindergarten, and 2nd grader

My toddler, preschooler and 2nd grader all found it equally fun and silly to play with!

Play Hide & Seek with the Spider in the Pumpkin Goop

At the beginning, my toddler wasn't thrilled about getting her hands dirty. (not a problem at dinner time!) So to help entice her to try it – I put a spider in in the Pumpkin Goop and “hide it”. Tinker bell loved finding the spider!