Autumn Adventures: Fun Fall Activities for Toddlers

Can you smell the pumpkin spice? That means Fall is just around the corner! There’s a simple charm in Autumn activities like visiting the pumpkin patch, picking apples, and family dinners. But it’s ten times better sharing these traditions with our kids. In honor of the occasion, we’re rounding up our favorite Fall activities for toddlers you’ll want to bookmark for later! We’ve hand-picked a list of activities your little ones will love and grouped them by games, decorations, arts & crafts, and more. There’s something for everyone on this list, so let’s jump in! 

Arts & Crafts

Arts and crafts are an important part of childhood education. They’re a fun way for kids to learn and grow while having a blast. There are so many developmental benefits of arts and crafts for toddlers. Not only do arts and crafts encourage their creativity and imagination, but they also help develop fine motor skills, boost cognitive skills, teach problem-solving, and improve their mental health. Here are several activities you can try at home:

Painting Gourds

You’ll Need:

1. A pumpkin
2. Washable, Non-Toxic Tempera paint
3. Paintbrushes
4. Extra decorations are optional (i.e. googly eyes, stickers, pom poms, etc.)
   

How To:

1. Visit the pumpkin patch or grocery store to choose your pumpkins
2. Set up a paint station with paints, brushes, and decorations (make sure your little artist is dressed in a smock or old t-shirt—this might get messy!)
3. Let them go to town and get creative!

Pumpkin-Scented Play Dough

You’ll Need:

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup of salt (a little more if you use kosher)
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil*
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (or a mix of cinnamon/nutmeg/cloves)
• optional: food coloring or natural food based dyes (such as beet juice and turmeric)
  

How To:

1. Combine all ingredients (except coloring) in a large pot.  
2. Stir over medium heat until a big ball forms. (It should be smooth and no longer sticky.)
3. Remove from the pot and allow to cool until the dough can be worked by hand.
4. Divide the dough into however many different colors you want.
5. Work the colors into the dough by adding a few drops at a time and kneading. 
6. Enjoy!

Corn Painting

You’ll Need:

1. ​​Ear of corn
2. Corn holders (optional)
3. Paper
4. Different colors of paint
5. Paint brushes
   

How To:

1. Remove the corn husk
2. Place paint in a tray or paint pot
3. Insert your corn cob holders
4. Cover the corn in paint
5. Roll the corn over your paper

Pinecone Painting

You’ll Need:

• Pinecones
• Washable tempera paint
• Droppers or pipettes
• Brushes (if some of the children do not yet feel comfortable with the droppers and pipettes)

How To:

• Pour the tempera paint into containers and place them on a table, along with the droppers and/or pipettes and/or brushes and the pinecones.
• Invite your toddlers to paint the pinecones. It really is as simple as that!

Seasonal Decorations

As adults, we might think of seasonal decorations as a chore, but to kids, these traditions provide the fuel for a flexible imagination, play skills, and thinking skills. The routine of decorating for the holidays provides comfort and reduces stress for toddlers, too. So, while the holidays may be “extra work” for adults, they can also be a source of familiarity and good things to anticipate for children. 

Carving Pumpkins

You’ll Need:

• Pumpkin
• Knife
• Spoon
• Scissors
• Glue stick

How To:

1. Have a parent or guardian cut the top off the pumpkin. 
2. Let your toddler scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Roast the seeds later for a yummy snack with this recipe!
3. Let your toddler choose a free, printable jack-o-lantern design that can be cut out and glued to the pumpkin. 
4. Cut out the design while your little one naps or plays. 
5. Decide where to display your project!

Falling Leaves Garland

You’ll Need:

• A bag of artificial leaves 
• Elmer’s glue
• Paint brushes
• Glitter
• Hole puncher
• Ribbon

How To:

1. Use a paintbrush to apply Elmer’s glue to the artificial leaves
2. Sprinkle glitter over the leaves
3. Let the glue set before shaking off any excess glitter
4. Punch a hole at the top of each leaf
5. Thread the leaves through the ribbon
6. Secure the ribbon to any wall of your home with tape or pin cushions

Sensory Activities

Sensory play engages all five senses and is hugely beneficial to toddlers and kids of all ages. When your child engages their five senses, they're learning about the world around them and their brain is making new connections. This type of play encourages the development of fine motor skills, boosts cognitive skills, promotes language development, and so much more. 

Fall Harvest Sensory Bins

You’ll Need:

• Plastic bin/container
• Found items from nature!

How To:

• Take your toddler into the backyard, around the neighborhood, or for a hike
• Gather fallen items like acorns, leaves, rocks, twigs, flowers, pine cones, and anything else your little one finds interesting
• Pile your found items in the plastic bin or container and let your toddler touch, feel, and play with each item

Counting Pumpkins Sensory Bin

You’ll Need:

• Pumpkin seeds
• Egg Carton Pumpkins
• A sharpie pen
• Sensory bin tools (such as spoons, bowls, and jugs)

How To:

1. Make your egg carton pumpkins. Each pumpkin will need a top and a bottom half, so make sure that you double up your egg cartons to make the entire vegetable.
2. Write the numbers 1 – 10 inside the pumpkins.
3. Pour the pumpkin seeds into the tub.
4. Place the pumpkins inside the seeds.
5. Ways to play:
• Scoop & Pour: Use your spoons and bowls to scoop up and pour the pumpkin seeds into various containers. You can also use the pumpkins themselves as containers for scooping and catching the seeds.
• Science: Talk to your kids about all things pumpkin while playing with this simple sensory bin. This is a fun way to explore some science concepts behind pumpkins such as how pumpkins grow, what they need to grow, how we use them.
• Sensory: This activity encourages kids to explore different textures and sounds. The pumpkins, pipe cleaner stems and seeds themselves are very tactile. And once you shake the filled pumpkin around it will make a noise. Additionally, pouring the seeds into the tub from different heights will also make slightly different noises that children can enjoy experimenting with.

Fall Slime

You’ll Need:

• Clear Elmer’s Washable School Glue
• Saline Solution (active ingredients to include sodium borate and/or boric acid)
• Food Coloring (generic or specialty both work fine)
• Glitter
• Leaf Confetti
• Bowl, Spoon, Measuring Cups
• Reusable Container (for storage)

How To:

1. Add 1/2 cup of Clear Elmers Glue to your bowl (add more glitter if desired).
2. Mix with a 1/2 cup of water.
3. Add food coloring and glitter
4. Stir in 1/2 tsp baking soda
5. Mix in 1 tbsp saline solution and stir until slime forms and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. If your slime still feels too sticky, you may need a few more drops of saline solution.

Outdoor Activities

Outdoor play provides an endless amount of benefits for toddlers including better self-awareness, improved mood, and development of several emotional and intellectual development skills. Encouraging kids to increase their time outside and away from their devices aids their physical health, too! Nature is healing for adults and children alike. 

Garden with Your Kids

How To: 

1. Make the garden a safe place. Accidents will happen and that’s okay! Just be sure to do the best you can by removing any sharp branches, rocks, or plants. Communicate boundaries with your little one, and keep them in sight at all times.
2. Start small! Save any real gardening for when your toddler is at daycare or with the babysitter. 
3. Establish rules. Don’t fret over muddy shoes or trampled flowers, but do offer alternative activities if the one your toddler is participating in isn’t safe. For example, if they want to eat birdseed, tell them why they can’t and offer a snack inside! 
4. Explain the world. Gardens are a great opportunity to show your little one how the world works. Explain how plants grow, what they need to survive, and how some can make us strong and healthy.
5. Provide a sensory experience. Think of all the amazing things to touch in the garden! A water hose, the dirt, fuzzy leaves, pots—the list is endless!
6. Let your toddler help. Babies love helping! Teach them how fun it is to pull weeds and watch them go to town. 

Scavenger Hunt

How To:

Take your toddler on a trip to the backyard, the park, or a hiking trail! They’ll love discovering new things and being able to point them out on their own. You can start by looking for any of the following:

1. Colors
2. Shapes
3. Letters
4. Nature

Campfire S’mores

How To:

Whether you’re at home in the backyard or camping in the forest, making s’mores is a classic campfire activity. Your little one can help in all steps of the process!

1. Break one large graham cracker in half.
2. Cover one of the halves with chocolate pieces.
3. Put a marshmallow or two on a stick. (Tip: choose a long stick to help kids keep a safe distance from the fire and stay cooler.)
4.  Hold your marshmallow stick over the fire and twirl it every so often to toast all sides of the marshmallow. Continue until the marshmallow is toasted to your liking (some members of our team advocate for the classic golden brown marshmallow, while others love the crispy blackened version). 
5. Place your toasted marshmallow (still on the stick) on top of the graham cracker with the chocolate.
6. Take the other half of your graham cracker and cover the hot marshmallow, pressing down firmly enough to pull the stick out while leaving the marshmallow behind.
7. Eat your marshmallow like a sandwich while it is warm and gooey!

Games & Play

Research shows that games and playtime are essential for healthy development in early childhood and beyond. Play allows kids to experiment through trial and error, problem-solving, and working out the best strategies, building their new confidence and skills. Proper learning has its place, but there’s nothing like some good old-fashioned fun for a toddler’s emotional and cognitive development!

Dance and Learn with Sound Books

Cali’s Books’ sound books provide an incredible sensory learning experience with fun music for dancing, eye-catching illustrations to keep kids engaged, and buttons to touch, press, and stay active! Our favorite fall read is the Halloween Nursery Rhymes sound book, full of memorable Halloween characters with special glow-in-the-dark features on every page.

Halloween Nursery Rhymes

It's a spooky good time with six chilling Halloween songs, including, "Pumpkin", "Trick or Treat", "The Little Ghost", "Witches", "Let's Dress Up", and "Black Cat".

Halloween Bundle

This bundle's a hit with Twinkle Little Star, The Wheels on the Bus, and Bedtime with Mozart, you can't go wrong!

Old MacDonald

Take a trip down memory lane with this book that's guaranteed to have everyone moo-ing, neigh-ing, and oinking along!

Colors

Featuring six nursery rhymes with extended versions and newly-added lyrics, your little one will have a blast learning their colors. Songs include, “Red,” “Yellow,” “Orange,” “Green,” “Blue,” and “Pink.”

Ring Around the Pumpkin

You’ll Need:

• Pumpkins (any size, on the smaller side is best)
• Empty paper towel or toilet paper rolls
• Scissors
• Stickers and markers

How To:

1. Cut the paper towel roll into rings about 1-2 inches wide
2. Decorate each ring with stickers or color them with markers
3. Watch how they move the rings from one pumpkin to another, seeing how many they can fit on each stem and how many different ways they can arrange them. You can try counting each stack of rings and talking about which stacks were big and which were small.

Face Painting

You’ll Need:

• Face paint: There are several kinds of face paints out there, water-activated, dry-pressed powders, liquid paints, grease-based, wax-based, glycerin-based, etc. When you are just learning how to face paint we suggest you start with glycerin-based face paints (like Superstar, Paradise) and/or paraffin wax or Acacia Senegal Gum-based face paints (like Fusion Body Art, Diamond FX, TAG Body Art, Wolfe FX, etc). These paints are water-activated, easy to use, and provide good coverage and bold colors.
• Face painting brushes: Your basic brush shapes will be round and flat brushes. 
• Face painting sponges: Most of your base work (when you lay down colors to create a base for your design) will be done using sponges. 
• Baby wipes: Be sure to use unscented wipes to reduce the chances of allergic reactions. They should never be used to clean the surface of your face paint since they can leave little fibers in your face paint.

How To:

1. For water-activated paints, all you need is some water and a face-painting brush or sponge. For sponges, get the tip of your sponge wet, just the tip, and then rub the sponge back and forward or in a circular motion over the surface of the face paint cake until you see that the consistency of the paint is creamy and the tip of your sponge has a good load. 
2. When working with face painting brushes make sure to get the full length of the bristles wet. Once the bristles are wet, wipe any excess water on the edge of the water container and proceed to rub the brush against the surface of the face paint in circular motions if it is a round brush or back and forward if it is a flat brush.
3. Go crazy! Here are some expert techniques you can try! 

Fall is a magical season filled with opportunities to create lasting memories with your little ones. Whether you're crafting colorful leaves, exploring a pumpkin patch, or enjoying a cozy family dinner, the joy is in the fun you share together. Embrace the season, make the most of these activities, and most importantly, have fun! Happy Fall!