[Autumn Activities] Nature Play and Craft Ideas for Fall to Incorporate into Childcare!

Pinecone Necklace

Let's gather the autumn and make original accessories♪

Let’s make a Pine Cone Necklace using the pine cones everyone picked up.

You’ll need yarn and colorful straws.

First, wrap the pine cone around the middle of the yarn.

Cut the colorful straws into pieces about 2 cm long and thread them onto the yarn.

If you want a colorful look, use many colors; if you prefer a uniform look, choose the same color.

Tie the ends of the yarn, leaving about 10 cm, and you’re done.

Pine cones from Japanese red pine and Japanese black pine differ slightly in shape and color.

It’s also fun to show and observe the pine cones everyone found.

Let’s make cosmos and play

Handmade Cosmos — Craft Play That Looks Just Like the Real Thing — #play #childcare #nurseryteacher #kids #athomeplay #craftplay #artsandcrafts #cosmos #flowers #autumn #September #October #indoors #toddlers #video

Let’s make cosmos flowers, a symbol of autumn, using construction paper and other simple materials! You’ll need origami or colored paper, a straw, a bamboo skewer, cellophane tape, and scissors.

Cut colored paper to create the flower and stem parts.

Cut the straw short, make radial slits at one end and flare it open, then attach the petals on top.

Insert a bamboo skewer through the center, wrap double-sided tape around it, and wind thin strips of green paper around it to create a stem.

Cosmos flowers come in many colors—pink, white, red, yellow, and more—so making a bunch in different colors and arranging them like a bouquet will look gorgeous.

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Halloween costume party

Halloween party at the daycare

When it comes to Halloween highlights, nothing beats a costume party.

From classic getups like jack-o’-lanterns, ghosts, and princesses to hugely popular characters that aren’t really Halloween-related—like Spider-Man and Minions—there’s something for everyone these days.

It’s fun to dress up together and stroll around the park or the neighborhood, enjoying that fleeting feeling of transformation.

If store-bought costumes aren’t available, making them out of paper can be a blast.

The playing-card soldiers from Alice in Wonderland can be made with cardboard, and you could even craft a fluffy hula skirt out of yarn!

Field Bingo

Tried playing a bingo game in nature! Using the five senses to explore the outdoors! We also found mulberries and tried making mulberry jam!

If you can head out to a park or a nearby square, this “Field Bingo” is highly recommended.

It’s a recreation activity that makes full use of children’s five senses! Create bingo cards with items kids are likely to find, such as something prickly, something fluffy, autumn nuts, spiderwebs, and big autumn leaves.

Having several different versions of the card can make it even more exciting.

Then just give them the cards and let them freely explore the park.

The first person to get bingo wins, but in the end, they’ll want to find every square on the card.

Be sure to try it on a fine, crisp autumn day!

Hand play ‘Donguri Korokoro’

Donguri Korokoro (with actions) [Japanese song/children’s song]

The classic acorn song “Donguri Korokoro”! There’s a hand-play version of this classic acorn song, too.

Roll your arms in circles to show the acorn tumbling.

Wiggle your arms like a little snake to make the loach the acorn meets in the river.

Cross your arms in front of your chest to create a gentle, warm feeling.

Even infants will get excited by these movements, so try singing “Donguri Korokoro” with lively actions! It’s also recommended to use picture books or a sketchbook theater to show the children what the scenes look like.

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Hand Play “Baked Sweet Potato: Rock, Scissors, Paper”

[Hand Play Song • Autumn] Baked Sweet Potato Rock-Paper-Scissors [Teacher Hiromi]

Speaking of autumn, it’s the season of hearty appetites, right? Roasted sweet potatoes, loved by both kids and adults, are one of the tastiest autumn treats.

Here’s a game called “Yakiimo Gu-Chi-Pa,” where you sing a roasted sweet potato song while doing a hand game and then play rock-paper-scissors.

You show “Gu” (fist) to mimic the rumbling sound of an empty stomach, “Chi” (scissors) with an ‘ouch, hot!’ gesture to show holding a hot sweet potato, and “Pa” (open hand) to show that you’ve eaten it all and it’s gone—singing as you go, and finishing with everyone doing rock-paper-scissors.

It’s also fun to speed it up to make it more challenging!

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If you drop a pine nut from above…

[Osanpo Hana-iku] Winged Seed Flying (Natural Propeller Play)

In autumn, you often see pine cones on pine trees and scattered along the road.

A pine cone is made up of many overlapping scales.

Between each pair of scales, there’s something thinner than the scales themselves wedged in—that’s the pine cone’s seed.

These seeds have something like a wing attached, and if you open your hand and drop one, it falls with a peculiar motion.

Its movement is different from a leaf or a petal falling—a great autumn discovery! You can try this not only with pine cones but also with maple and Japanese maple seeds, so if you find some, give it a try.

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