Get kids excited in November! A collection of play and craft ideas using autumn’s natural treasures

Autumn Discovery Adventure

[2-year-olds] Autumn Discovery Explorers!

Let’s head out for a walk with the kids and go find lots of autumn nature! A fun way to make the outing even more exciting is with a walking bag.

You can easily make one using a milk carton and raffia tape.

Decorate it freely with permanent markers and stickers to create your own original bag.

Let’s enjoy discovering plenty of autumn treasures with the children—acorns, pinecones, and beautifully colored leaves.

Put your favorite finds into the walking bag to bring home, and once you’re back, have everyone share by saying, “Look what I found!” That will help spark even more interest in autumn’s natural wonders.

By getting lots of hands-on experience with autumn’s unique nature and growing a sense of familiarity with it, you can feel the changing of the seasons together.

Autumn wreath

[Autumn Craft for Ages 2–3] A Preschool Teacher’s Easy Guide to Making a Wreath with Nuts and Seeds!

In autumn, it’s common to go on walks to the park with everyone from the daycare and enjoy collecting nuts like acorns and pinecones! Let’s use those natural finds to make a cute wreath.

Cut a circle out of cardboard with a utility knife to create a wreath shape.

It might be best for teachers or parents to handle this step.

Have the children glue on materials like nuts, pipe cleaners, and pompoms! Enjoy displaying the wreaths in the room or around the daycare.

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Off to enjoy the flavors of autumn!

[For 2-year-olds] Let's go autumn taste hunting!

Speaking of autumn, there are so many delicious things, aren’t there? Persimmons, grapes, sweet potatoes… Let’s enjoy an autumn harvest experience by gathering these tasty treats! Children carry baskets or paper bags, dig up sweet potatoes made of newspaper, and pick grapes hanging like a garland, putting them into their own bags.

It’s also fun to make the fruits and other items as crafts to “harvest.” It helps kids learn about seasonal autumn foods and makes for an indoor activity that builds practical life knowledge!

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Autumn finger play

Finger play for 2- and 5-year-olds themed around autumn

Let’s play hand and finger games that promote fine motor development with an autumn-themed twist! You can make autumn motifs with origami or try a torn-paper collage that looks like autumn leaves.

It would also be lovely to cut colored construction paper into ginkgo and maple leaf shapes, punch holes, and thread yarn through them to create necklaces.

Threading yarn through holes requires concentration, and by taking on this challenge, children will learn to use their fingertips more skillfully.

Plus, it could be fun to create together with friends of different ages.

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Autumn Hand Play Medley

[Nursery/Kindergarten] Autumn Hand-Play Medley – All 5 Songs

There are lots of songs that feature autumn foods and creatures! If you add hand motions to those songs as you sing, they’ll be even more fun—no doubt about it! The songs that appear in this hand-play medley are “Yaki-guri” (Roasted Chestnuts), “Dango Kuttsuita” (The Dumplings Stuck Together), “Tonbo no Megane” (Dragonfly’s Glasses), “Konkon Kitsune” (Tap-Tap Fox), and “Donguri to Korisu” (Acorns and a Little Squirrel).

While singing, you make shapes with your hands, move in ways that match the lyrics, clap, and enjoy singing together.

Songs with a storyline become even more enjoyable when you add hand movements, because you can feel the narrative more vividly than by singing alone!

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Autumn Origami: Acorns, Mushrooms, and Fallen Leaves

Let's fold seasonal 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!

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Transform in autumn nature!

[Ages 3–5] Transform with Autumn Nature!

Let’s have fun making your favorite crown using colorful leaves! Stick lots of fallen leaves you found on a walk onto a headband that you’ve prepped with double-sided tape, and you’ll have a crown in no time! Since you can choose leaves in your favorite colors outdoors as you make it, it really sparks the imagination—“Which leaf should I use?” We also recommend trying acorns and pine cones.

And it’s not just crowns—making other items like a walk bag or a cape would be exciting too! Once you’re done, everyone can transform and put on a little show together.