Outdoor Sensory Play: Leaf Pile Scavenger Hunt

Parents everywhere have started to understand the benefits of sensory play but it isn’t always easy to get inspiration. We all see those beautiful sensory bins that some parents share on social media and dream of creating them. Life gets in the way and we beat ourselves up with mom guilt. Sensory play doesn’t have to be a big set up. There are opportunities everywhere. Some of my favorite activities are the most simple, like this outdoor sensory play idea: a leaf pile scavenger hunt.

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Physical Benefits of Outdoor Sensory Play

Not only is outdoor sensory play an easy activity for parents, but it also has incredible physical benefits for kids. Anytime kids get fresh air, they reap the benefits of it but there is something particularly stimulating about Autumn air. It is so crisp and invigorating that simply going outside is a sensory experience for kids.

Add in some leaves.

Now, kids are using their eyes to track the movement. They hear the crunch and smell the leaves under their feet. Kids are forced to think about where their body parts are as they lay down and get buried under endless leaves. Then, they burst from dark to light with huge smiles on their faces.

Their joints are learning.

With every jump into the pile and every armful of leaves thrown into the air, kids’ joints learn about pressure. They learn how much force is needed to move the leaves around on the ground and how much is needed to lift them. This is a valuable time for their bodies to grow strong and spending it playing outside ensures this development.

From gross motor skills of jumping and running to the fine motor skills of picking up a single leaf, this outdoor sensory play helps kids’ bodies learn what it can do.

Outdoor Sensory Play Idea: Leaf Pile Scavenger Hunt

This activity was born out of a chore. I was trying to clear the yard of the leaves and the battery on my leaf blower died with a large pile left in the yard. It wasn’t a big deal since I just figured we would play in it until the batteries charged. The kids only wanted to play with blocks. I didn’t want to go inside.

So, we took the blocks outside and I threw them, one by one, into the leaf pile.

Sifting through that giant leaf pile to find 11 MegaBloks took a little bit, but both kids had a great time. We did it over and over again with the same result. Big smiles and I knew I had some great outdoor sensory play that I had to share!

Looking for more scavenger hunts? Check out this outdoor color hunt!

Up the Educational Factor with These Ideas

Add in some extra learning and language activities by selecting your toys to hide. You can pick fall-themed items, food, or a variety of toys and name them as your child find them to introduce new words during this outdoor sensory play.

Maybe you want to practice colors. Use the Megabloks as we did and name the colors as you find them.

Literacy

Learning the alphabet or beginning to read? Use a sharpie and write letters and words on the Megabloks. As kids find them, they can shout out what is written on the block. Older kids can build a story wall out of the blocks as they find the words and start to put the words together.

Try this clothespin sight word activity for more literacy building.

Math

The same idea as the early literacy. Write numbers on the blocks and you can do everything from number recognition to equations!

Since it is outdoors, plastic toys are probably the best since they are easy to clean. Here are a few ideas to get your started.

MegaBloks

Good for colors, basic literacy or math (just write on them), and building.

Plastic Food

Hiding the food increases kids vocabulary. Keep it healthy (I’m talking fruits and veggeies) to promote that healthy lifestyle we all talk about and strive for!