Simple Fall Theme Crafts to Make with Young Kids

Creative Autumn Art Project Ideas for Toddlers and Preschoolers

Aug 27, 2008

With leaves, glue, toilet paper rolls, potatoes and a few craft odds and ends, it is easy for preschoolers to create interesting artwork out of low budget materials.

Fall is a season of many colours and textures, which inspires creative projects for young kids. Autumn also has many celebrations such as Back to School, Halloween, Harvest and Thanksgiving which makes theme based crafts simple to do as an activity. The following are general fall crafts which can be easily altered for various autumn themes.

Leaf Placemat

Easily done with a group of preschoolers, this craft has little preparation or clean-up. Cut two rectangular pieces of Mactac approximately 12 inches by 16 inches for each child. Peel one of the rectangles so the sticky side is facing up. Let the kids arrange about six leaves in a single layer on the Mactac, keeping a ½ inch border around the edges. Place the second sheet of Mactac on top of the leaves, sticky side down, sealing the edges. Encourage the kids to use a variety of leaves, maple keys and thin pieces of bark to add interest to their placemat.

Pressed Flower Window Hanging

Best done as an individual craft, these simple window decorations using pressed flowers are great teacher gifts. Cut two circles out of waxed paper approximately 5 inches in diameter for each child. Have each child place various small flowers and seeds in the middle of one of the circles. Place the other circle on top and use a warm iron to press the two circles together, pressing the flowers flat. It is a good idea to put a towel between the waxed paper and the iron to prevent melting and sticking. Punch a hole in the top of the circle and attach a ribbon for hanging.

Fruit and Vegetable Characters

Using gourds, apples, potatoes and squash preschoolers can use foamies and woodies to make fruits and vegetables into colourful characters such as scarecrows. Simply attach the shapes using white glue and add googly eyes, ribbon and construction paper to personalize each character. This is a great craft for making centerpieces or place card holders for a Thanksgiving dinner.

Toilet Paper Roll Squirrel Puppet

Perfect for talking to preschoolers about animals preparing for winter, this cute squirrel puppet can be easily adapted to make a chipmunk, squirrel and beaver. Attach a whole walnut to one end of a brown toilet paper roll using hot glue. Glue the walnut so part of the nut hangs over the body of squirrel to create a noticeable head. Hot glue googly eyes onto the walnut and small circles of brown construction paper for ears. On the back of the puppet glue a bumpy pipe cleaner for a tail or cut a tail from brown construction paper or a brown paper bag.

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