In October childcare, kids will be captivated! A collection of play ideas to fully enjoy autumn
October brings a stronger sense of autumn, and the playground is now filled with colorful fallen leaves and acorns.
Using these gifts from nature, along with Halloween-themed crafts and even pretend taste-harvesting play, we’re introducing October-only activities that stimulate children’s five senses.
As autumn deepens, look for ideas for fun activities that nurture children’s curiosity.
Please use this as a reference to enjoy seasonally rich play and spend time filled with children’s smiles.
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In October childcare, kids will be captivated! A collection of play ideas to enjoy autumn (41–50)
Handprint and footprint stamp production
In daycare centers and kindergartens, it’s common to make crafts using handprint and footprint stamps that let you see the children’s growth.
For autumn-themed projects, how about making mushrooms and squirrels with footprints, or bagworms with handprints? Kids enjoy taking their handprints and footprints, and if they like stickers, it’s fun to add patterns with stickers too.
Display the finished pieces in the hallway, and parents will be able to see them at pickup—it’s sure to make them happy!
Roasted Sweet Potato Making
Roasted sweet potatoes made with fallen leaves—something kids today don’t get to experience very often! In the past, we used to gather dry leaves, burn them, and place foil-wrapped sweet potatoes in the embers to make yaki-imo.
It was one of the autumn activities children looked forward to.
These days, fewer kids do it because there aren’t many suitable places, and delicious roasted sweet potatoes are easy to buy.
But if you get the chance, definitely give it a try! Even collecting the leaves doesn’t feel like a chore when you think about those fluffy, piping-hot sweet potatoes!
Autumn Discovery Adventure
Let’s go for a walk with the children and look for lots of signs of autumn in nature! A fun way to make the walk even more exciting is with a little walking bag.
You can easily make one using a milk carton and plastic gift ribbon.
Decorate it freely with permanent markers and stickers to create your own original bag.
Let’s enjoy discovering autumn together with the kids—acorns, pinecones, and beautifully colored leaves.
Put your favorite natural treasures in the walking bag to take home, and once you’re back, everyone can share and say, “Look what I found!” This will surely deepen their interest in autumn’s nature.
Let’s touch and grow familiar with the many aspects of autumn that are unique to this season, and feel the changes it brings.
Six types of autumn origami
These are cute origami ideas with autumn motifs—such as chestnuts, mushrooms, acorns, and Pacific saury—that kids can enjoy making.
For the chestnut, fold it into a triangle and open it once.
Then fold the top down toward the center, fold down the top right and top left as well to gather the shape, flip it over and fold again, and adjust the shape to finish.
For the acorn, adding googly-eye stickers instantly makes it adorable.
Also try kid-favorite ghosts and familiar items for fall field trips, like hats.
Give them a go!
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.
paper cup ghost
We’re going to make a ghost toy that’s perfect for autumn when Halloween is coming! First, use an awl to make a hole in a paper cup and insert a straw at an angle.
Next, prepare a plastic bag in your favorite color and, with the sealed end at the top, draw a ghost face on it.
Then firmly attach the opening of the plastic bag to the straw so there are no gaps.
Finally, pull the straw out a bit and tuck the plastic bag into the paper cup—now you’re ready.
When you blow through the straw, the ghost will puff out and pop up!
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!