[Childcare] Autumn craft ideas

Deputy Editor of RAG MUSICsasashina
Deputy Editor of RAG MUSIC. JFC-certified fact-checker. I’m Sasashina, a mom currently raising an elementary schooler and a preschooler. During my student years at Kyoto College of Science and Technology, I studied a wide range of fields including sound, lighting, and video technology, building a foundation in comprehensive stage production and creative expression. After graduation, I joined a music production company, where I still work, consistently building experience in production and engaging in a variety of music-centered tasks. Currently, I mainly handle articles for children, drawing on what I’ve learned about parenting and what I feel and discover through daily interactions with my kids. I hope my work can be of help to you, even in a small way!

We’ve gathered fall craft ideas that are perfect for childcare!

Autumn is a comfortable season with plenty of chances to go for walks and play outside.

Children are likely to pick up all sorts of intriguing things—acorns, pinecones, leaves, and more.

In this article, we introduce crafts that use found items as materials, as well as projects made with construction paper, origami paper, and recycled materials.

We’ve collected a wide range of ideas—from toys kids can play with after making them to decorations for wall displays—so try choosing activities that suit the children’s ages and have fun creating together!

[Childcare] Fall Craft Ideas (121–130)

[Halloween] AmiAmi Jack-o’-Lantern

These days, Halloween has firmly taken root as a classic autumn event.

Let’s make a jack-o’-lantern—the symbol of Halloween—using cardboard and yarn.

Cut the cardboard into a pumpkin shape and punch evenly spaced holes around the edge.

It’s a good idea to prepare up to this step in advance.

From here, the children can take over: have them thread orange yarn through the holes, crisscrossing diagonally and weaving as they like.

Finally, attach facial features made from black construction paper, and it’s finished.

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utatane

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Autumn Fruits Made with Various Techniques

Apples, pears, persimmons, grapes, and Japanese pears.

There are surprisingly many fruits that are in season in autumn, aren’t there? The children will surely have tried at least one of them.

Here’s a craft idea to make various autumn fruits using different techniques.

With methods like finger painting, decalcomania, wet-on-wet painting, brushing art, and bubble art, you can create fruits that look absolutely delicious.

Be sure to make them with the children and use them for autumn hanging decorations or wall displays.

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sasashina

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stylish tree

Perfect for the art-filled days of autumn! Here’s a stylish, artistic tree-making idea.

It’s a creative activity that draws out children’s free imagination, so why not try it at your nursery or kindergarten? The teacher cuts construction paper into leaf shapes, and the children freely color them with crayons or paint.

Next, tear craft paper (or similar) into branch and trunk shapes and glue them on.

Finish by arranging the colored leaves you made earlier.

If you have time, you can add a stamping activity using various recycled materials—kids will love it.

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miyabi

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Moon-viewing tanuki

Children are thrilled by the raccoons’ many different expressions! These wall decorations feature tanuki, which often appear in traditional Japanese folktales.

Pre-cut parts from colored construction paper—faces, bodies, tails, eyes, and so on—and let the children glue the pieces together.

They can work with the teacher, place the parts wherever they like, or even try the gluing from start to finish on their own—adjust the tasks to suit each child.

Just changing the eye placement or the balance between the face and body makes every raccoon wonderfully unique! Pair them with motifs like the moon or dango dumplings to add an even more autumnal feel.

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yuri

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[Childcare] Fall Craft Ideas (131–140)

Moon-viewing craft

Let’s create a craft themed around moon viewing (Otsukimi).

Prepare dark blue construction paper to represent a night sky with the moon.

Arrange pictures of the moon, rabbits, and moon-viewing rice dumplings (dango) on it.

You can draw each element, or you can make them with origami and glue them on—both are great options.

For the dango, you can also line up small balls made from crumpled tissue paper.

For the moon, try a collage style using torn pieces of origami or tissue paper, or make a stylish moon by cutting a circle from construction paper and adding color with marbling techniques.

Adjust the methods and techniques to suit the children’s ages.

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SAKI

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Halloween pumpkin with tissue paper

A Halloween pumpkin wall decoration made by crumpling tissue paper! The method is super simple: crumple orange tissue paper, put it into a clear plastic bag, shape it, and tie it with a pipe cleaner.

Stick eyes, a nose, and a mouth onto the side of the bag, and your pumpkin is done in no time.

You can stick it on the wall, but the drawstring-style look is so cute that tying it to a string and hanging it as a garland is also recommended.

If you crumple white tissue paper, you can make a ghost too—so be sure to try them together!

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yuri

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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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SAKI

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