Leaves and Pinecones Theme Activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers

Inside: The leaves and pinecones theme includes lots of fun activities for the fall lesson plan. A nice way to explore nature indoors and out. Free printables included!

Fall is a nice time to take advantage of learning about nature.

While on walks, take time to notice how the leaves are changing colors, and how they are starting to fall from the trees.

Along with the leaves, there also might be pinecones scattered on the ground.

Squirrels and other animals could be included in the leaves and pinecones theme as well, especially if they are busy running around outdoors in your area.

👉 FREE printable activities are included in this theme. Scroll down towards bottom of the post to find the links to download!

Light Table

The fall leaves and pinecones theme is a perfect time to explore colors.

I created a fall sensory bag by placing artificial autumn maple leaves to a gallon size freezer bag and added clear dish soap and various sequins. I then taped it securely to the light table and added some tissue paper leaves.

If you’ve never placed a sensory bag on the light table, you must!

Related: Ultimate Collection of Light Table Activities

Table Activities

Our table activities are part of our centers time.

As I’ve mentioned in other posts, not all of our activities are related to the current week’s theme. I also provide activities that build skills and tap into interests that I’ve noticed while observing the children.

What We Had on Our Table

• Leaf counting cards (scroll down to find the free printable to download)
• Red rectangle blocks and hand-drawn rectangles 1-4 (works on shape recognition and 1:1 correspondence)
• Acorn wooden string fine motor toy
• Leaf color matching (printable available towards bottom of this post)
• Let’s Pretend builders tool kit book

Writing Table

I placed my left-to-right squirrel and acorn printable in reusable dry erase pockets and added dry erase markers and a baby wipe (for wiping off the ink when finished).

(This printable is included in my freebies towards the bottom of this post.)

Related: How to Set Up the Writing Center

Circle Time Activity

We went on a leaf hunt! The paper leaves were hidden around the room and as the children found them, they placed them on the matching color page.

Related: The Best Fall Circle Time Activities

Dramatic Play

We added leaf placemats, scattered leaves, and fruits and veggies with wooden bowls to our dramatic play area.

Related: 25+ Dramatic Play Activities

Blocks Center

We used our train table to play with Calico Critters, Lincoln Logs, and tree blocks.

Related: The Best Blocks Activities

Sensory Bin

I added some burlap leaf shapes to our bin along with dyed rice, containers, and scoops.

Related: Big Collection of Sensory Bin Ideas

• One Leaf, Two Leaves, Count with Me
• We’re Going on a Leaf Hunt
• Leaves
• Fletcher and the Falling Leaves
• There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Leaves!
• Leaf Man
• Why Do Leaves Change Color?

Music and Movement

Our November playlist includes songs that are part of our November themes as well as everyday favorites:

Free Printables