Last Updated on October 4, 2025 by Sheryl Cooper
Inside: This fall apple sensory bin is not only for preschoolers, but it can easily be adapted for toddlers, too. Lots of hands-on play!
Once we are officially into the fall season, we start our apple theme. Because we teach both toddlers and preschoolers, we are always looking for ways to be able to adapt our activities for both age groups.
I was thrilled when my co-teacher came up with this fun fall apple sensory bin! We were able to swap the smaller apples for the larger ones on the days our toddlers were in the classroom.
Both age groups got to explore their 5 senses! (The taste came afterwards when we made our yummy applesauce.) What a fun way to welcome fall!
Fall Apple Sensory Bin for Toddlers and Preschoolers
Fall is the perfect time to explore. We see beautiful colors, we hear the birds and the squirrels, we feel the crispness in the air, and we taste the freshness of pumpkins and apples and other bounties of our fall harvest.
Supplies
- Uncooked oatmeal
- Cinnamon sticks
- Tin bowls
- Burlap bags (optional – we already had them)
- Scoops
- Fake apples (small and/orlarge)
Last week’s focus was on apples. We asked our 3 year olds’ families to pick out an apple from a farm, backyard, or store and bring it to school. We compared our apples in size, shape, and color. We had a taste test and made applesauce.
And then we introduced our fall apple sensory bin.
Sensory bins like this allow for lots of scooping and sifting and pouring.
The added cinnamon sticks provide a pleasant apple pie scent.
Adapting for Toddlers
We substituted larger plastic apples for the smaller ones. We talked about how they were just pretend, so they weren’t for tasting. But if they did want to taste a real apple? They were given that opportunity, of course. Apple slices for anyone who desired!
More Fall Activities
FREE CIRCLE TIME PLANNER!
Get your FREE circle time planner as a gift when you subscribe to my free weekly newsletters.
Here is my Privacy Policy
What a great fall activity to explore fall scents! May need to try this with my son 🙂
What a delicious activity!