[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.
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Autumn Activities: Fall Nature Play and Craft Ideas to Incorporate into Childcare! (1–10)
Dangling bagworm
Let’s make a paper-cup “bagworm” that dangles and sways from a tree! First, punch a single hole in the center of the bottom of a paper cup to thread a string through.
Pass the string through the hole, attach a short piece of straw to the end inside the cup, and secure it so the string won’t slip back out.
Next, prepare about three sheets of origami paper in your favorite colors and crumple them up.
Unfold the papers, tear them vertically into several strips, and paste them onto the cup.
Finally, add eyes and optional patterns with more origami paper.
Your colorful bagworm is complete!
Fingerplay ‘Pine Cone’
This is a hand-play song about pinecones that you find all over the ground in autumn! Match the lyrics by puffing up both hands and putting them together to make a pinecone shape.
You can also make a “mountain” over your head where pinecones are falling.
Show pinecones rolling down by whirling your arms in circles.
At the end, act like a monkey to show the pinecone getting eaten! With its fun rhythm and gestures, even infants can enjoy it.
After the hand-play song, it’s a great idea to observe real pinecones too.
Autumn Origami: Acorns, Mushrooms, and Fallen Leaves
We’ll make classic autumn items—acorns, mushrooms, and fallen leaves—out of origami! For the acorn, first fold the paper into a triangle twice, then unfold.
Fold one corner toward the center twice.
Flip it over and fold both sides in so they go a little past the center line.
Fold the bottom corner up slightly, and it’s done! Next, for the mushroom, fold the paper into a square twice, then unfold and fold one edge up to the center.
Flip it over and fold both sides toward the center, then fold the bottom up, leaving about 1 cm uncreased at the bottom edge to create a flap.
Fold the corners of that flap inward and open them, then fold all four outer corners in; the mushroom is complete! For the fallen leaf, fold once into a triangle, then make accordion folds from one end and unfold.
Lightly fold along the initial triangle’s crease at a slight diagonal.
Open it up while keeping the diagonal fold section, then round off the corners with small folds; your leaf is finished!
[Autumn Play] Fall nature activities and craft ideas to incorporate into childcare! (11–20)
Making a fragrance with osmanthus
Let’s make a lovely fragrance using sweet, wonderfully scented fragrant olive (osmanthus)! In addition to the osmanthus flowers, you’ll need anhydrous ethanol and a jar with a tight-fitting lid.
Finely chop the osmanthus flowers and put them in the jar, then add anhydrous ethanol in twice the amount of the flowers.
Seal the lid tightly and store it in a cool, dark place such as the refrigerator for about 2 months to 1 year.
If the jar is clear, wrap it with aluminum foil.
When it’s ready to use, be sure to dilute it with purified water first! You can apply it directly to the skin as a perfume substitute, or brush it onto ceramics to enjoy it as a room fragrance.
Fallen-leaf mobile
Let’s make a gently swaying mobile with an autumn feel using fallen leaves! You can use the leaves you’ve picked up as they are, but adding color with paints will create a cute, colorful mobile.
For the base to hang the mobile from, use branches.
Painting the branches or wrapping them with yarn will make them look charming.
Once you’ve prepared everything, use yarn or twine to hang the leaves.
Arranging them randomly gives it a stylish look! Adding pinecones and the like will give it a distinctly different touch as well.
Moon-viewing dango display
In autumn, we have Otsukimi, when we admire the full moon, right? Here’s a recommended decoration idea for Otsukimi.
Cut out a stand called a “sanpō,” which is used to hold the Otsukimi dango, from construction paper, and paste it onto a separate sheet of black construction paper.
If you also make and paste the moon and pampas grass (susuki) around it in the same way, it will feel even more like Otsukimi! Then, roll up tissues to make dango, stack them neatly, and glue them on to finish.
Once it’s done, enjoy Otsukimi while singing finger-play songs perfect for the occasion, like “Dango Kuttsuita” and “Tsuki.”
Colorful bookmark
What comes to mind when you think of autumn? When we think of autumn, we think of reading season—and when we think of reading, we think of bookmarks! So let’s all make bookmarks inspired by autumn.
You’ll need thick paper (cardstock), tracing paper, and flower paper.
You can find flower paper at large 100-yen shops.
Draw an autumn-themed illustration on a piece of cardstock cut to bookmark size.
Cut out the illustration with a craft knife—make sure an adult handles the parts that require using the knife.
Make two of the same design.
Stick tracing paper over the cut-out sections, then paste on colorful flower paper—this is the most fun part! Layer the two pieces of cardstock together, and make the tassel or string part with the flower paper to finish.
With the desire to use their own handmade bookmarks, everyone will be eager to start reading!