Explore Nature with these Preschool Science Ideas for Fall

Inside: Creating preschool fall science activities can be easy when thinking about nature and what’s living around us outdoors. Here are some fun hands-on ideas that young children love!

We love exploring science in the fall! Well, we love exploring science all year…but there is something special about fall. At least where I live! And so, putting together preschool science ideas for fall is pretty easy. We take a look at what’s going on in nature and plan around it.

This year we explored:

🌻 Sunflowers

🕷 Spiders

🐿 Squirrels and Acorns

🦉 Owls

🎃 Pumpkins

We used the same themes for both our toddlers and preschoolers, but removed the smaller pieces for the toddlers. Both ages enjoyed the hands-on environment.

Explore Nature with these Preschool Fall Science Activities

We have a small round table in our classroom that we use for science and exploration. I love using plexiglass page holders to display pictures and text. By propping them vertically, they create a nice invitation for our children, plus they don’t take up as much space on the table.

You can see our full year’s worth of tables here: How to Set Up. your Preschool Science Center

If you are short on space and don’t have room for a table, try using the top of a short shelf. You can see how we did that here: How to Set Up a Preschool Science Area in a Small Space

Sunflowers

Every September we explore sunflowers. We ask around who might have some mammoth sunflowers that are ready to be harvested. We then place them on our science table, along with tweezers to pull out the seeds.

Sometimes our families donate the harvested sunflowers that we planted in the spring.

We display sunflowers in vases to brighten our classroom. We extend this activity to our art table, where we create a large sunflower bulletin board, and we have fun with a sunflower sensory bin.

Spiders

Spiders are all around us, especially in the fall when we find them all over our outdoor play area. We love to explore their webs, looking to see if the spider is still attached.

Our spider science table included plush toy spiders, spider fact books, and a spider discovery bottle.

I created a pretend spider web across the window above our science table and added some spider rings. We also enjoyed a spider counting craft at the art table.

Related: 15+ Spider Activities

Free printable spider counting cards!

Download and print these cards to add to your spider theme:

More spider activities: 15+ Spider Activities Your Preschoolers Will Love

Squirrels

In September and October we see a couple of squirrels above our outdoor play area, most often carrying nuts in their mouths. I created a science table that included our beloved tree blocks, acorns, and some squirrel books.

You can see more of this in my squirrels and acorns science post.

Owls

While talking about animals that are awake during the night, we included owls at our science table.

After reading books about owls, we made a flying owl craft to put on our bulletin board.

More owl activities: 15 Hands-On Preschool Owl Activities

Pumpkins

Of course, no fall science curriculum is complete unless it covers pumpkins. We extended this with a fine motor pumpkin activity, a pumpkin stand, and pumpkin painting.

Download this free pumpkin printable to use with your pumpkin theme:

Check out our favorite science toys and materials:

More science for toddlers and 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:

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