Autumn Home Activities for Kids
You can feel it in the air can’t you? The heatwave is over, it’s cooler in the mornings and evenings, the trees are telling you… it’s Autumn!
Autumn is one of our favourite times of year! We love the weather, the changing leaves, the pumpkins and fun family things to do! Little Harvard has created a collection of fall crafts that featuring autumn leaves. All of these crafts can be created in our own home, so we can assure you that they are all child friendly and lots of fun. All activities were arranged in an age appropriate order, starting with those just perfect for involving the little ones.
Collect Leaves
What a better way to explore the start of the season than with a nature walk to collect beautiful Autumn leaves! They provide such a great springboard for all sorts of learning – comparison, contrast and matching, developing descriptive vocabulary, counting, measurement, and they invite discussion about all manner of science related topics. Try asking your child to tell you – or draw for you – how they think the color got into the leaf. Enjoyable for all ages!
Leaf Sun-catcher
After coming back from a nature walk , carefully place some of the autumn leaves you collected onto a laminating sheet. This will preserve the leaves a little longer and also make a lovely display! Stuck it onto a window or glass door, as they provide a wonderful visual display for babies and toddlers.
Autumn Themed Sensory Play
Sensory play is wonderful for babies and toddlers and there are all sorts of fabulous items to explore right in your pantry! Pasta, oats, lentils and dried beans are fabulous for representing the colours of autumn. Add some small containers, plastic bottles and spoons or scoops for free exploration!
Leaf Pictures
Preschoolers and older children will have a great time creating their own leaf pictures. Simply glue the leaf down and add additional features with marker pens. Encourage creative thinking by asking your child, “What else could this leaf become?”
Fingerprint Autumn Tree
We love this idea! Use some nice strong glue to stick some twigs onto a canvas. When dry, use red and orange paint and ask the kids to make the leaves using their fingerprints. These canvas make a beautiful autumn decoration for home!
Autumn Leaf Garland
You can the laminated leaves from the sun-catcher and cut them out individually to thread onto a garland. You could, of course, use your leaves without laminating them. Children aged 4 and up should be able to use a hole punch and once they have punched a hole in each leaf they can thread the leaves onto a piece of string. Great for fine motor development – little muscles in the hands – and a pretty decoration.
Leaf Rubbings and Mandala Patterns
Put your leaf under your paper and rub over it with a crayon. I cut them out and then used the shapes to create a mandala pattern using a combination of rubbings and real leaves. Your rubbings could also be used to create leaf pictures.
