[Crafts for 3-Year-Olds] A Collection of Fun Ideas for Autumn! Let's Incorporate Seasonal Motifs
Autumn is a season when you can really feel nature, with things like nuts and fallen leaves.
There are also plenty of events, such as Respect for the Aged Day and Halloween.
You’d love to enjoy making crafts, but don’t have time to come up with ideas…
For teachers like you, we’ve gathered craft ideas that three-year-olds can enjoy in autumn! We introduce a variety of ideas with different aims—using natural materials or creating items for events.
Please use these as a reference and enjoy calm, autumnal days with the children.
Note: Since items made by children are treated as works (artworks), we use the term “seisaku” (制作) in the text.
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[Crafts for 3-Year-Olds] A collection of fun fall ideas! Incorporate seasonal motifs (71–80)
acorn
Why not make a homemade spinning top using acorns you’ve picked up at parks or campgrounds? It’s also a great opportunity for kids to get hands-on with natural materials.
The trick is to choose larger acorns, such as sawtooth oak (kunugi) acorns, for the top.
First, mark the center of the top of the acorn, then set it on a rubber doorstop or similar item to hold it steady.
While holding the acorn firmly, use a pushpin to make a hole.
If you want to widen the hole, you can use a screw hook.
Once the hole is made, insert a toothpick straight in, trim it to a suitable length, and you’re done! This method is simple and safe enough for elementary school children, so give it a try.
Acorn pouch
As an activity to enjoy with children during the autumn season, making an “acorn pochette” is highly recommended.
First, cut an empty tissue box and paint it in your favorite colors.
Next, make acorns out of origami and use a craft punch to add your own original patterns.
Finally, thread a string through the tissue box to complete it! Through this craft, children can build concentration and feel a sense of accomplishment when they finish.
Plus, if you take the pochettes you made with the teacher to the park for an acorn hunt, the children will be able to fully enjoy the autumn nature!
Cosmos with sponge stamps
When it comes to autumn flowers, cosmos come to mind.
How about making vibrant cosmos blossoms with sponge stamping—a craft that even little kids will love? All you need are a paper plate with a cosmos flower shape cut out in the center, white drawing paper for the base, paints, and a sponge.
Simply place the paper plate on the drawing paper and dab the paint-covered sponge over the plate; a beautiful cosmos shape will appear, sure to elicit delighted cheers from the children.
Feel free to let many flowers bloom in all kinds of colors!
Halloween ghost decoration
This is a perfect craft for Halloween wall decorations or hanging ornaments! First, stick the eyes and tongue of a ghost, along with a hat folded from origami, onto a paper cup.
Next, attach yarn to Halloween motifs made from construction paper and connect and secure them to the paper cup.
The origami hat might be a bit complicated for three-year-olds, so teachers can prepare them in advance.
You can also have fun customizing the motifs—pumpkins, ghosts, witches, and more.
Through this activity, why not make Halloween even more exciting together with the children?
Popping Bubble Wrap Mushroom
Why not try making mushrooms using bubble wrap, a cushioning material handy for shipping items? First, cut out a mushroom from construction paper.
Be sure to cut the cap and the stem separately.
Next, cut the bubble wrap into the shape of the cap and stick it onto the construction paper cap.
After that, just let the children color freely with markers or pens.
If they color in the round bubbles, it creates a pretty polka-dot pattern.
If you plan to use them as wall decorations, mushrooms alone can look a bit plain, so draw autumn leaves and other motifs on construction paper and have the children cut them out as well.
Acorn made from a single sheet of origami paper
Here, let me show you how to make a simple acorn using just a single sheet of origami paper.
Although you only use one sheet, the clever use of the front and back makes it look as if two sheets were used—that’s a key point.
First, fold one sheet of origami paper into quarters, then fold just one edge into a triangle.
That part will become the acorn’s cap.
If you use origami paper in your favorite color, you’ll get an acorn with a cap in that color.
Add a cute face, and you’ve got a one-of-a-kind acorn.
If drawing a face is difficult, you can simply stick on round stickers for the eyes and half-cut round stickers for the mouth.
A jack-o’-lantern that can stand upright
Let’s make a jack-o’-lantern—perfect for a Halloween craft! Using toilet paper rolls, a common household item, you can try it easily and at little to no cost.
Wrap origami paper around three toilet paper rolls, connect them with double-sided tape, then add the pumpkin’s face and stem.
With only a few steps, it’s easy enough for three-year-olds to try.
You can even adapt it into a ghost or a witch, not just a pumpkin.
It stands upright, so it’s sure to shine as a Halloween decoration!