Friday, October 11, 2013

5 Fun Fall Activities for Preschoolers

One of "My Most Popular Posts" right now is "10 Fun Fall Crafts for Toddlers." That seems appropriate, yet all of images from that 2011 post have disappeared due to Pinterest's changes. Here's a 2013 update!



These activities are all FRUGAL, FUN, & KID-FRIENDLY. I hope you'll try a few out with your kiddos!



1. Fall Nature Canvas



We actually made this one in September, but we keep replenishing our leaves as the old ones shrivel up. You need a foam board, straight pins, a shirt or paint to cover your board, and leaves. The girls painted the board yellow (washable paint). Then, we went on a Nature Walk and gathered pretty leaves that they stuck on the board with pins. 

This craft is super simple but really adds a touch of Fall to the house! Plus, we used it as a learning opportunity and looked up our leaves in the tree guide. Now the girls know what trees are around our house.

2. Easy Popcorn Balls


I can't remember what prompted us to make popcorn balls (a book??), but when I found this super EASY recipe, we had to do it. The girls enjoyed melting the butter and marshmallow, and they REALLY loved adding sprinkles at the end. Our Fall popcorn balls look more like Christmas ones since they used green and red sprinkles, but they were FUN and DELICIOUS.

3. Crunchy Fall Leaf Pictures

Photo Credit

We haven't done this one since 2011 :) so I think we'll revisit it next week since the leaves here are getting pretty crunchy. These pictures also make lovely Fall decorations for your home. Plus, the girls love to see their handiwork on display. A word of advice: If you do this activity inside, put a baking sheet underneath the paper to catch all that leaf confetti. It makes a MESS! But the finished products are beautiful.

4. A Thankful Tree


Photo Credit

We have made a Thankful Tree for the past two years. Unfortunately, I can't find my pictures to share ours with you, but both most closely resembled Emily Rose's (pictured above). We gathered sticks and tree limbs from the yard and fit them into a 1/2 gallon glass milk jug. Then, I cut out paper leaves {here's a template} which we placed beside the Thankful Tree. 

During our morning devotionals, we would each share a blessing, and I would write it on a leaf {one per person} with the date and each girls' name on the back. The girls string the leaves with yarn, and I tie them to the tree. I keep the leaves so each year for beautiful memories. The girls look forward to adding leaves and it's a perfect opportunity to praise God for all His sweet gifts!

5. Finger-Painted Pumpkins

Photo Credit
Our girls are still too young to cut out pumpkins, but I really want them to participate in the decorating. My mom blessed us with three pumpkins -- one for each girl -- so we're going to have a go at this idea {thanks, Pinterest!}. 

Basically, you apply painter's tape to your pumpkin and use an X-acto knife to cut out the image you want. Then, your child finger paints to her hearts' content over the painter's tape (and anywhere else). Once the paint dries, you remove the tape to reveal your picture! I think the girls will love making their own pictures and getting to paint their pumpkins.

Those are just 5 simple Fall activities you can do with your little ones (and even your big kids). For more fun Fall ideas, check out my Fall Recipes, Fall Decor, & Fall Crafts for Kids boards on Pinterest.

Happy Fall, ya'll!



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13 comments:

  1. A thankful tree is on my list of things to do with the girls next week! :)

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  2. Love the foam board idea! All of these are great and gonna try some of these with 3.5 year old!

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  3. Love the thankful tree! I want to remember to do that as our little ones get older. I could maybe so a simple version even this year with my 2 year old. Oh my goodness, those pumpkins are adorable. I might have to buy some paint.

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    1. Deanna, I first did the thankful tree when my oldest was three and middle child was 1. It was VERY simple. We picked up sticks from the yard and I cut leaves out of construction paper. We talked about the gifts God has given us, and each day we shared a gift God gave us that day...a blessing from Him that we were thankful for. I have kept all those leaves from the last two years. They love to see what they said. I wrote their names and ages on the back of the leaves. I hope you do it even if only for a week. It's fun and a great way to get your kids thinking about the goodness of our Father.

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    2. You convinced me! I'll have to do it with her this year. Maybe I'll have to do it every Sunday until Thanksgiving - or more often if she really gets into it.

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    3. Yea! You won't regret it! I think spacing it out once or twice a week is a great idea for little ones. I did get overwhelmed trying to do it every day with my little ones. Hope you are blessed by it!

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  4. ummmmm so LOVE LOVE these!! Thanks for posting. Will try, share and link back to you. www.wisemommies.com

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  5. Thanks for inspiring me to remember my preschoolers! The older kid projects keep sucking all our time but tomorrow I'm getting out the glue! We shared this with our FB readers at homesteadlady.com.

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    1. Yea, Tessa! Your little ones will love it! We did the crunchy leaf pictures last week and mine had a blast! Glue is so fun for 3-year-olds. I hope you guys have fun too!

      Thanks for commenting and sharing!

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  6. Good morning! Your post was one of the most visited from last week's link-up, so is among this week's featured. I'll share on FB, Twitter, and pin to Pinterest. Thanks for linking up and help yourself to a featured button. :)

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