Crafts
Earth Day activities & crafts for kids
Crafts
- Our five favourite fall activities and crafts for preschoolers
The crisp return of fall brings along with it the return of cabin fever – especially for younger kids. With their older siblings off to school, and plummeting temperatures blunting their favourite outdoor activities, boredom can come swiftly. We’ve put together a few of our favourite autumn activities and crafts for preschoolers that not only help banish the brisk-weather blues, but sneak in a bit of early learning too.
Fall Foliage Journal
Kids love collecting leaves on autumn strolls – why not take it a step further and help them set up their very own Foliage Journal? Preserve their flower, leaf and grass findings by pressing or taking crayon rubbings, and then gluing into a journal. Next to each leaf, ask them to describe where they found it, what it looks like, the weather that day and what they were doing and help them write it down. This living journal is a great way to develop interconnectivity with nature, and practice describing objects.
Corn Cob Painting
Have a prized husk of late summer corn that’s about to turn? Get crafty with corn painting! Just apply paint to a husked cob of corn, and have your child roll it up and down on a paper to create a graphic, modern print. You can layer different colours, too – try brown, green and orange for a fall-inspired craft! This gets kids in on the tactile joy of painting with their hands, without the massive mess that comes with finger painting.
Indoor Storytelling Campfire
Bring the magic of summer campouts well into fall by creating an indoor campfire – perfect for sleepovers or story circles. Create your faux fire by cutting out construction paper flames and taping them into a large bowl. Collect cushions and blankets from around your place, and place them in a circle around your fire! Cook up some smores under your broiler, or cast a story on the wall using the Moonlite story projector.
Pinecone Bird Feeder
An autumn classic, this is a perfect craft and activity to get your kids engaging with the great outdoors. Go hunting for the largest pinecone you can find on your midday walks. Once home, mix up some peanut butter and birdseed in a small bowl and roll your pinecone in it to cover. Attach some twine, and hang it on a tree by the window. Kids can even add to their ‘fall foliage journal’ by drawing and recording all the birds they spot who come to feast on their feeders.
Indoor Leaf Jump
Preschooler got the sillies? This active indoor activity is perfect for releasing some of that pent-up energy! Ask them to go through the house and collect all the blankets, pillows and clothes they can find that fit into a certain fall colour palette – this will also help strengthen their listening and colour matching skills. Once they’ve collected an adequate “leaf pile” they can take turns flopping into it! (With parental supervision, of course.) When playtime’s done, make “raking the leaves” (aka. putting everything back where they found it) part of the fun.
Looking for more playdate activities? our top tips for the best playdate ever.
Crafts
