Autumn is just around the corner, so I’ve rounded up 14 fun fall-themed activities to do with your toddler this season. Have fun!
1. This scrunched tissue autumn leaf craft from In the Playroom is the perfect simple craft for toddlers. They’ll love the ripping and scrunching of the tissue paper, and you’re providing them opportunities for fine motor development. All you’ll need is a large autumn leaf cut out, tissue paper, scissors, and glue.
2. Take a nature walk through a local park or trail and gather fallen leaves, twigs, acorns, and pinecones. Have your child create a “treasure box” by decorating a shoe box and place the fall “treasures” inside for safe-keeping. Each time you go on a walk, gather new items for the treasure box!
3. This playdough apple activity from Fantastic Fun and Learning really does look like “fantastic fun!” Using either homemade playdough or the store-bought kind, add some twigs, leaves, seeds, and fake worms and watch your child’s imagination go wild! You could even use edible playdough and gummy worms for a tasty snack!
4. Fall-themed sensory tubs are fun for babies, toddlers, and even older kids. I like this one by Toddler Approved with plastic fruits, fabric leaves, and foam shapes.
5. Pumpkin painting was always a favorite when my kids were little. It’s a simple, straightforward activity that doesn’t require tons of prep. Just grab a pumpkin, some paint, and a brush and go! They make lovely fall decorations when they’re finished!
6. Print this template from All Kids Network and make an adorable scarecrow craft. This is a good fine motor activity with lots of cutting and tracing.
7. Felt boards are so much fun for toddlers and the possibilities are practically endless. I love this flannel board pumpkin face activity from Teach Beside Me. There are lots of fall-themed activities you can do with a board like this, including this mix and match ghost activity for Halloween by And Next Comes L.
8. This is a unique craft from The Magic Onions. They made a pine cone fairy! Now that’s creative!
9. Try this handprint fall wreath on a rainy day. Handprint crafts are always a lot of fun for kids to make. They love tracing their hands, and we love keeping the crafts so we can look back at how little their hands used to be.
10. Here are some autumn lacing cards from The Activity Village. Just print on cardstock, hole punch, and let your child practice lacing or sewing skills with a shoestring or yarn.
11. Take your toddler apple picking by hanging apple shapes cut from cardstock on some low tree branches. You can take Growing a Jeweled Rose’s idea of putting alphabet letters on the apples to work on letter recognition, or maybe just start with shapes.
12. Again from Growing a Jeweled Rose (great blog!) is apple-scented cloud dough. My kids used to love playing with cloud dough. Warning: It can be messy! Mix 7 cups of flour with 1 cup of vegetable oil (or baby oil) and add apple pie spice!
13. Entertain your toddler for quite some time by pounding golf tees into a pumpkin. Afterwards, you have a beautiful luminary. This idea comes from I Can Teach My Child.
14. Nothing beats raking up a big pile of leaves and just jumping in them!
