[Autumn Activities] Nature Play and Craft Ideas for Fall to Incorporate into Childcare!
Autumn is a season full of nature that can be put to good use in childcare.
It’s also a time when we can really feel children’s growth, isn’t it?
As it becomes more comfortable to spend time outdoors, many preschools and kindergartens likely enjoy activities like collecting nuts and gathering fallen leaves.
You want to introduce lots of new activities but can’t find any ideas…
For those with that concern, we’ve gathered recommended nature play and craft ideas for autumn.
Enjoy them together with the children and savor the fruitful season.
The experiences they have at your center will become precious memories for them.
- [Early Childhood Education] Enjoy Autumn! Play and Activity Ideas Inspired by Sweet Potatoes
- [Autumn] Seasonal play ideas to incorporate into childcare: Let’s connect with nature both outdoors and indoors
- [October] Craft ideas for fall you can use in childcare
- Even 1-year-olds will be captivated! A collection of craft ideas to enjoy the art-filled autumn
- Autumn craft ideas that will captivate 2-year-olds! Have fun making them and enjoy the fall to the fullest
- Fun nature activities that children will love. Recreational games.
- September: Autumn crafts! Ideas you can use in childcare
- Autumn Acorn Craft Ideas! Enjoy with Your Kids
- Summary of activities you can use in childcare in September: autumn-themed play such as crafts and fingerplay.
- [Childcare] For 2-year-olds! November craft activity ideas
- September crafts for 2-year-olds! A collection of make-and-play ideas to enjoy autumn
- Get kids excited in November! A collection of play and craft ideas using autumn’s natural treasures
- Play ideas kids can enjoy from 1st to 6th grade [indoors & outdoors]
Autumn Activities: Fall Nature Play and Craft Ideas to Incorporate into Childcare! (111–120)
Making a kendama with pinecones and paper cups
During your autumn outdoor activities, be sure to pick up some pine cones.
You can make a kendama using a pine cone and a paper cup! All you need are a pine cone, a paper cup, and some yarn.
Make a hole in the bottom of the paper cup, thread the yarn through, and secure it.
Tie the pine cone to the other end of the yarn.
Draw your favorite design on the paper cup, and it’s complete.
Since pine cones can sometimes have insects, don’t forget to prep them by boiling or freezing for disinfection.
Hosting a kendama tournament with your finished toys is sure to be a hit!
Potato-finding Game
In autumn, you see more trucks selling stone-baked sweet potatoes.
These days, sweet potatoes are fairly easy to get year-round, but they’re definitely tastiest in season.
Let’s enjoy autumn with a game called “Sweet Potato Hunt”! First, use yellow and brown paper to make something that looks like a baked sweet potato.
It’s more fun when it looks realistic, so observe pictures or photos carefully before making it.
Fill 3 to 5 cardboard boxes with lots of shredded newspaper, and hide the baked sweet potato you made in one of them.
Whoever finds the sweet potato wins.
It’d be fun to play on a day when sweet potatoes are on the school lunch menu!
The “cattail” that explodes when touched
Have you ever seen those long, brown plants growing near ponds or marshes? They’re called cattails, and you can spot them in autumn, around October to November.
Believe it or not, the brown cattail heads actually explode! Don’t worry—there’s nothing dangerous about it.
If you gently squeeze a cattail head, it crumbles and releases a huge amount of fluffy fibers.
It’s fun to try, so if you find a cattail, give it a touch.
You could even research whether they’re in a nearby park before heading out for a walk!
Rhythm Play: “Dragonfly”
We’ll introduce a rhythm game where you pretend to be a dragonfly.
While the music is playing, spread your arms and run around as if a dragonfly is flying through the sky.
When the music stops, freeze on one leg with your arms still outstretched.
It’s a bit like musical chairs.
Since everyone will be zooming around together, be careful not to bump into friends nearby.
Can you balance and stop neatly? It’s sure to get the whole class excited! As a lead-in to the game, we also recommend going outside to observe real dragonflies.
Acorn play
Here are three games using the acorns that fall all over the roads in autumn! First is “Acorn Bowling,” where you use acorns as the ball and the pins.
It’s actually harder to stand up the acorn pins than it is to roll the acorn ball.
The second game is “Acorn Standing,” which uses the same technique of standing acorns like pins.
It’s surprisingly tricky to get them to stand, so you can easily get hooked! Lastly, there’s “Acorn Spinning Tops,” where you spin acorns like tops.
If you spin them well, the acorn might even end up standing upright!
Catching autumn insects
We tend to associate insect collecting with summer, but autumn bug-hunting is great too! Crickets, grasshoppers, dragonflies—there are lots of insects kids love in the fall as well.
Quietly observe places where bugs are likely to be, such as between grasses or near rice fields.
As you search, you’ll gradually get better at finding them.
All you need is a net and a cage to enjoy it easily.
After you’ve had fun catching bugs, either set up an environment at the kindergarten to keep them or return them to nature.
Hopefully it becomes a chance to learn that insects are living creatures, too.
In conclusion
We introduced fall play ideas that kids will love. There were a variety of ideas, from making use of autumn’s natural features to activities that let you feel your child’s growth. Be sure to try lots of these activities and enjoy wonderful time with your children.