Simple and Fun Sensory Play with Candy Corn

This week we created simple and fun sensory play with candy corn. Unfortunately, if you saw my last post about how to make geodesic domes, you are aware they they were not very successful. You can read it here if you would like. So we quickly pivoted and changed our plans and dumped the candy corn into our sensory bin and started to play that way.

a white bin with an orange jack o lantern bucket surrounded by candy corn and candy pumpkins

Sensory Play with Candy Corn

After the failed attempted at fall geodesic domes, we pivoted and quickly realized that candy corn and candy pumpkins would make a fun sensory bin. We always enjoy using safe, editable items for sensory play. Surprisingly, once we dumped the candy corn and pumpkins into our sensory bin, my kids actually asked for the toothpicks back from the geodesic domes. When we have a sensory bin out, my goal is to always allow play to be led by them. This was a fun one to watch unfold.

The Creativity that Followed

Part of me was unsure how my kids would adapt to using this as a sensory material but as always they did not disappoint. We actually ended up leaving this out for a couple of days and each day was something a little different. The first day, they actually used their toothpicks from the geodesic domes and played more imaginatively. They created wands and pretended to have some magical powers. This extended beyond the sensory table and they ended up running around the yard playing with teeny tiny wands made of toothpicks and candy corn. The next day, they pretended to be the pumpkin patch and corn maze. Someone was the farmer and owned the patch. Someone was a designer and helped to create a “corn maze.” Others would come to the farm and find the perfect pumpkin or get lost in the corn maze. They were able to take turns with who played each role which allowed for this to extend into longer play as well.

A Word of Caution

Careful though depending on where you store your sensory stuff, candy corn does melt! We had an unusually warm fall day and our sensory bin lives both inside and outside. We left the candy corn outside and covered but the table got some direct sunlight and we definitely had some melt, which is less fun to clean up!