The Autumn Workshop

Seasonal play for cozy afternoons

Nothing beats a craft you can make with what’s already in your kitchen—or after a quick trip to the grocery store.

A new favorite around here is homemade playdough. The kids get to measure, pour, and stir like little chefs, and then keep imagining and creating long after the dough leaves the bowl.

My favorite part is adding the cozy, pie-inspired spices and rolling the dough while it’s still warm. It smells just like November.

This would even be a fun homemade gift for the kids to make for friends or family, choosing their own colors and scents for a personal touch.

Watch us make our playdough here!

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour

• ½ cup salt

• 2 tablespoons oil (we use olive oil)

• 2 tablespoons cream of tartar

• 1 to 1½ cups boiling water (add gradually until the texture feels right)

• Gel food coloring

• A few drops of glycerin (or substitute with honey)

Directions

• In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, cream of tartar, and oil.

• Add food coloring to the boiling water, then slowly pour the colored water into the dry ingredients.

• Stir continuously until the mixture forms a sticky, combined dough.

• Add the glycerin or honey—this helps give the dough its lovely stretch and soft shine.

• Once it’s cool enough to handle, take it out of the bowl and knead for a few minutes until smooth and no longer sticky.

• If it still feels tacky, sprinkle in a little more flour until it’s just right.

Now that you’ve got some homemade playdough, it’s time to make some turkeys!

Pull out a few pipe cleaners, feathers and googly eyes, use pom poms or cut out a little beak and wattle (yes, I had to Google that name), and set everything out for those creative little hands to explore.

You can add all sorts of extras to your sensory table to spark imagination — the more textures and colors, the better!

A Cozy Kind of Mess 

Sensory tables are always a hit in our house. They can get messy, but the creativity (and the chance to actually enjoy a hot cup of coffee) makes it so worth it. I’ve learned to embrace the mess!

When I think of November, I immediately think of pies — so here’s a pie sensory idea for your littles:

Fill your sensory table or a small tub with red lentils (they actually look a lovely shade of orange) and add some baking supplies — measuring cups, spoons, tongs, or even a little hand mixer. Toss in fall-colored pom poms, cotton balls, cinnamon sticks, strips of brown felt, and a few small pie tins. Then let the kids “bake” their own pies however they like!

The best part about sensory play is how flexible it is. You can use as many or as few items as you have on hand, and it never has to look perfect. Honestly, even a simple tub of water and a few favorite toys can create hours of imaginative play.