Lovely childcare

For 1-year-olds! Fall Craft Ideas [Part 2]

For 1-year-olds! Fall Craft Ideas [Part 2]

Last updated:2024/10/1

20 years of experience as a nursery teacher / kindergarten teacherhiyoko sensei
I’m Hiyoko-sensei, a former nursery school teacher from Hyogo Prefecture. Ever since I was five, my dream was to become a childcare worker, and before I knew it, 20 years had passed since I achieved that dream. Through singing and playing with the children, I kept working with the spirit of someone in their twenties, even as I increasingly felt my physical limits year by year (haha). From here on, I’d like to share helpful information carefully and thoughtfully, drawing on my on-site experience.

A must-see for teachers who want to enjoy autumn crafts with children!

This time, we’re sharing Part 2 of our autumn craft ideas recommended for one-year-olds.

We’ve gathered lots of ideas featuring motifs that let you fully experience autumn, such as acorns, fallen leaves, bagworms, and mushrooms.

We’re also introducing ideas that use techniques and materials likely to engage curious one-year-olds, so we’re sure they’ll dive in with sparkling eyes.

Feel free to use these for autumn craft play or wall decorations, and enjoy an artistic autumn together with the children.

Because what the children create is treated as artwork, we use the term “seisaku” (制作: production/creation) in the text.

For 1-year-olds! Fall Craft Ideas [Part 2] (1–10)

Grapes in a rice straw wrapper

Let’s try making grapes using a dauber.

Soak a dauber with paint thinned with plenty of water, then stamp it onto drawing paper with a light dabbing motion.

Once you’ve finished stamping, draw the stem, attach a leaf made from construction paper, and you’re done.

You can buy ready-made daubers, but they’re easy to make: stuff leftover cotton or fabric into gauze and secure it with a rubber band.

If you can, prepare them before the activity.

If you want the stamped shapes to look more clearly like grapes, you can cut the stamped area into a grape cluster shape and paste it onto a separate backing sheet.

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A bagworm that breaks in three folds

How to Make Halloween & Autumn Origami: Super Easy! For Children Ages 0–2 #shorts

A bagworm that breaks in three folds

Bagworms go perfectly with autumn foliage, don’t they? Their curious shape tends to fascinate many children.

Making a bagworm out of origami is easy.

Fold a sheet of origami paper into a triangle with a slight offset, then fold both ends inward.

Flip it over, and start sticking on thin, torn strips of paper to form the bagworm’s “bag.” The colors you choose and how much you use will create all kinds of different bagworms.

A colorful bagworm could be fun, too.

Give it a try!

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Hirakawa Masako (Bōkarisuto: Sakata Mizumako)

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A hedgehog made with various stamps

Among living creatures, hedgehogs are a cute autumn motif that kids love.

Let’s make a hedgehog with stamping! First, cut the hedgehog’s body out of construction paper.

If you’re working with one-year-olds who can’t use scissors, a teacher or guardian should prepare it for them.

Next comes the kids’ turn: stamp onto the hedgehog’s body using forks or clothespins, however they like.

That’s all it takes to make an adorable hedgehog! If you stick it onto a sheet of paper with a drawn background, it will look even cuter.

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Tissue paper mushroom

Let’s make colorful and cute mushrooms using tissue paper! First, cut out a large mushroom stem (stipe) from construction paper.

Depending on the children’s ages, the teacher can prepare these in advance.

Next, have the children choose their favorite colors of tissue paper and crumple them into small balls.

Once they’ve made enough, place the balls on a sheet of plastic wrap and wrap them up while shaping them into a mushroom cap.

When it’s done, attach it to the construction paper stem to finish! If you like, draw a face on the stem for extra fun.

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Buzzy Monster

Speaking of Halloween, it’s all about ghosts, right? By the way, have you ever noticed that when you’re thinking a ghost might appear, everything you see starts to look like a ghost? Here’s a “shivery monster” craft that seems to play on that psychology.

It’s easy to make: tear origami or colored paper into any shapes you like, imagine them as ghosts, and add eyes and mouths.

Using dot stickers for the eyes is simple and really sets the mood.

Make lots of colorful, fun ghosts and decorate the wall—they’ll look great!

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Hirakawa Masako (Bōkarisuto: Sakata Mizumako)

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Grapes with a perfectly round stamp

Grapes are a popular autumn fruit among children.

Let’s express grapes using construction paper and stamps made from lactic acid drink containers.

First, as prep, cut out the overall shape of a grape cluster from construction paper.

Also prepare plenty of purple circles.

Using a variety of purple shades will make the final result look beautiful.

Have the children freely glue the circles onto the grape cluster, then use the lactic acid drink containers to stamp round shapes on top.

The overlap of the paper circles and the stamped circles creates an artistic finish.

Hang them up with purple raffia (suzuran tape) for display.

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Spiky hedgehog made with a fork stamp

Here’s a craft idea that uses a fork to create a hedgehog’s spines.

First, cut out a hedgehog silhouette from paper and paste it onto construction paper.

Next, draw the hedgehog’s facial features and decorate with stickers or bits of paper.

Dip a fork into paints mixed from colors like brown, green, and yellow, then stamp the fork onto the hedgehog’s body area.

By placing the fork marks randomly without diluting the paint with water, you can effectively suggest the hedgehog’s spiky texture.

Finally, glue on decorations like leaves or food items to the construction paper, and you’re done.

Give this craft a try to enjoy the fun of stamping with a fork.

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