Teaching 2 and 3 Year Olds

You are here: Home / Fall Activities / 30 Fall Activities that are Fun for Toddlers and Preschoolers

This post might contain affiliate links. Click here for more information. Thanks for visiting!

30 Fall Activities that are Fun for Toddlers and Preschoolers

by

Share
Pin
Tweet

Last Updated on September 15, 2021 by Sheryl Cooper

  Inside: Looking for fall activities you can do in your classroom or at home? Here are 30 ideas that preschoolers love!

 

Fall means colors in beautiful earth tones and lots of exploration with natural materials.

While summer is my favorite season, fall holds a special place in my heart because it awakens the 5 senses.

That’s why I love this collection of fall activities for preschoolers.

Hands-on fun!

Ready to see them?

30 Fall Activities that are Fun for Preschoolers

 

30 Fall Activities that are Fun for Preschoolers

Scooping Objects into Plastic Pumpkins

Fall Activities for Kids

 
We filled the sensory table with dried peas, sand and rocks. Scooping is a fun way to strengthen fine motor development.

Exploring Leaves

preschool light table activities- teaching 2 and 3 year olds

 
Leaves are most beautiful as they start turning colors! We love to go on walks and collect leaves to explore in the classroom. We display them on our science table, as well as on top of our light table.

Mixing Colors on a Pumpkin in a Plastic Bag 

fall preschool painting

Get the instructions and download the free printable here: No-Mess Pumpkin Painting.

Blending Fall Colors 

 fall activities for preschoolers

 

In this activity we mixed colors using balloons. It was quite fun! This is one of those activities that could be adapted to any season by changing the colors.

(See more about balloon painting here.)

Fall Sensory Bin

Fine Motor Sensory Bin for Fall

This fall sensory bin for preschoolers builds color recognition skills as the pom poms are transferred to matching colored containers.
Read more here: Fall Pom Pom Sensory Bin
 

Pumpkin Painting

Hands-On Toddler Pumpkin Painting {Super Easy}

Paint pumpkins with cotton swabs instead of paint brushes for extra fine motor strengthening. Post: Hands-On Pumpkin Painting
 

 Tweezers and Small Pumpkins

fall activities

One of our favorite fine motor activities is transferring small items with tweezers. This is the basic set-up, and you can then add any desired small objects.

Orange Play Dough

 
Mix up a batch of play dough, color it orange, and add objects to change the texture a bit, such as these sequin pieces. A great sensorial experience! (You can see more of this activity here.)

Spider Web Art

Spider Art
Put together a simple spider art activity that involves rolling golf balls with white paint.

Cornmeal in the Sensory Bin

fall activities for preschoolers 

 

 Cornmeal was added to our sensory bin along with dried corn. We placed mortar and pestles in the bin as well, as an invitation to grind the dried corn.

Apple Sensory Bin

Here's a Quick Way to Put Together a Fall Sensory Bin
Dyed rice, bins, and felt apples make this fall sensory bin full of texture!

Fall Process Art

 

Fall Process Art for Toddlers Using Corks
This fall process art for toddlers is all about mixing and stamping colors onto large sheets of paper using corks. 

 

 The Giant Pumpkin

 

 fall activities

 

I love to do group projects throughout the year to expose the children to working together. For this activity I cut out a large pumpkin shape from white paper. I had the children rip orange paper and then glue it onto the pumpkin paper. We finished with the facial features before hanging it on our wall.

 

Spider Puppets

How to Make an Itsy Bitsy Spider Puppet with Toddlers
Our toddlers loved making their own spider puppets for circle time! Get the free printable here.

Pinecone Painting

preschool fine motor fall

Work on fine motor skills while dropping paint on to pinecones! Read more here.

Tweezing Corn

Preschool Tweezing Corn Fine Motor Activity

 Set some dried corn on a tray with tweezers. The kernels can be pulled off the cob with the tweezers. This is a good challenge, and great exercise for hand-eye coordination. (See more here.)

Leaf Prints

Setting Up the Thanksgiving Theme for Toddlers and Preschoolers

 

Stamping with cookie cutters is fun all year long! For the fall season, we like to stamp with leaves and pumpkin with fall colors. (You can see more leaf printing here.)

Fall Wreaths

 

Super Easy Fall Wreath for Toddlers and Preschoolers 

 

Cut the center out of a paper plate so that you just have the outer ring. Tint white glue brown and press leaves onto it. There you have a simple wreath!

Apple Suncatchers

How to Make a Colorful Toddler Apple Craft
After comparing different colored apples, we made these fun suncatchers! Read more about it here.

Apple Prints From Bubble Wrap

Easy and Fun Apple Art for Toddlers
Toddlers and preschoolers love to use rollers, especially on bubble wrap. We’ve included a free apple printable, too! Link: Easy and Fun Apple Art

Pumpkin Stand 

Preschool Dramatic Play Pumpkin Stand 

 

This is one of our favorite dramatic play ideas! We add pumping, baskets, scales and a cash register for a pumpkin stand.

Apple Stand

We love turning our dramatic play area into an apple stand during the fall! Click here to see.

Bubble Wrap Fall Painting

Fall Art for Toddlers
More fun process art! See how we put it together here.

Macaroni Necklaces

Easy Thanksgiving Necklace 1

 
Dye small pasta pieces various fall colors and invite the children to thread them onto yarn for necklaces.

Hammering Golf Tees into Pumpkins

This is another favorite! We use our plastic hammers and golf tees for many different activities, but I think this is love the most. (You can see more here.)

Fall Leaf Suncatchers

How to Make a Colorful Fall Leaf Suncatcher with Toddlers

These vibrant suncatchers look so pretty in the window! Grab the free template here: Leaf Suncatcher Art

Sponge Painted Leaves

Leaf Art for Toddlers 

Ditch the brushes and paint with sponges! See more here: Fall Leaf Art

Spiders in the Sensory Bin

spider sensory bin

After singing The Itsy Spider, we had fun with a spider sensory bin that included a real water spout! You can read more about it here: Hands-On Spider Sensory Bin

Nature Collage

 

fall activities

 

Fall is a beautiful time to enjoy a walk! Take along a bag to collect items that are found on the ground and glue them onto paper.

 

Stamp with Pumpkins

 

pumpkin painting

We placed red and yellow paint into containers and placed small pumpkins in them. The pumpkins are then lifted out of the paint and stamped onto paper.

Apple Prints

The Easiest Way for Toddlers to Make Fall Apple Art

 A timeless classic, stamping with apples! Tip: carve a handle into the apples after slicing them in half. This is easier for little hands to hold while stamping.

Go stomping in puddles! 

 fall activities

 

There’s nothing like stomping in fall rain puddles!

30 Fall Activities that are Fun for Preschoolers

 

🍎 Fall Activity Plans 🍎

I’ve teamed up with other early childhood teachers and homeschoolers to put together these hands-on fall activity plans for toddlers and preschoolers!

Easy to follow activities that include modifications and adaptations to meet the needs of all learners.

Note: This is a digital product. That means when you make a purchase, you will be emailed a link to the activities.

For more information, click on the graphics below:

toddler lesson plans fall

preschool lesson plans fall

FREE CIRCLE TIME PLANNER!

Get your FREE circle time planner as a gift when you subscribe to my free weekly newsletters.

Here is my Privacy Policy

We won't send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time. Powered by Kit
Share
Pin
Tweet

About Sheryl Cooper

Sheryl Cooper is the founder of Teaching 2 and 3 Year Olds, a website full of activities for toddlers and preschoolers. She has been teaching this age group for over 25 years and loves to share her passion with teachers, parents, grandparents, and anyone with young children in their lives.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  10. Heather

    Such fun ideas for the kids to enjoy this fall! Thanks for sharing on our Facebook share day, looking forward to pinning and sharing this week!

  11. The Preschool Toolbox

    Wonderful collection of fall activities! Thanks, again, for taking the time to share via FB. I don’t always have the opportunity to see all that you post! It’s a wonderful way for me to connect with your blog. Hope YOUR week is going well!