6 Simple Autumn & Fall Activities for Kids
Laura @inspiremyplay
Founder of @inspiremyplay, Early Years teacher for 11 years and mummy to three gorgeous girls. I'm passionate about about the benefits of play in early childhood.
Autumn is the perfect time for sensory and creative play. For our friends in the US, that’s fall! From crunchy leaves and colourful rice to nature hunts and pumpkin-filled sensory play, there are so many simple ways to bring the colours, textures and treasures of the season into playtime.
Whether you're looking for autumn activities for toddlers and preschoolers at home or planning a seasonal theme for your nursery or classroom, these six autumn and fall activities are easy to set up and encourage plenty of hands-on exploration.
The Benefits of Autumn & Fall Sensory Play
Autumn provides lots of opportunities for children to explore seasonal changes through their senses. They can feel the different textures of leaves, notice changing colours and listen to the sounds natural treasures make on walks and during play.
Sensory and creative play can also help develop:
- Fine motor skills – scooping, pouring, picking up small objects and using tools all strengthen the muscles needed for everyday tasks.
- Creativity and imagination – open-ended activities give children the freedom to explore materials and come up with their own ideas.
- Language and learning – seasonal play provides plenty of opportunities to talk about colours, textures, nature and the changes they can see around them.
-
Concentration and coordination – activities involving sorting, matching and transferring objects encourage children to focus and coordinate their movements.
We explore these in more detail in our blog, The 7 Amazing Benefits of Sensory Play for Children.
6 Hands-On Autumn & Fall Activities
1. Autumn/Fall Coloured Rainbow Rice
Coloured rice is a wonderful sensory base for scooping, pouring and transferring. Give it an autumn or fall makeover by using complementary colours to create beautiful seasonal shades.
What You'll Need:
How to Play
Colour your rice using autumn-inspired combinations such as red and green, orange and blue, or yellow and purple. Use a stronger shade for the main colour and a smaller amount of its complementary colour to create a more muted, autumnal effect.
Add a little hand sanitiser to help disperse the food colouring, or use a tablespoon of vinegar if you’d prefer a taste-safe option. Mix well until the rice is evenly coloured, then leave it to dry completely before playing.
Add the rice to your PlayTRAY along with bowls and scoops and let your child explore. They can scoop, pour, fill, transfer and mix the rice between containers – great for developing fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.
Our PlayTRAY is perfect for sensory bases like coloured rice, giving children plenty of space to explore while the six compartments help keep tools and materials organised.
2. Autumn/Fall Soup
This beautifully simple activity turns autumn treasures into a pretend soup! Collect some leaves and other natural materials on your next autumn or fall walk, then bring them home for some messy, imaginative play in the PlayTRAY.
What You'll Need:
How to Play
Fill your PlayTRAY with water and add a drop of orange food colouring along with leaves and other autumn treasures. Let your child explore the different textures and talk about the different colours.
Add tools like scoops, bowls and tongs so they can stir their soup, scoop up leaves and transfer them between containers. This is a lovely activity for different aged siblings as younger children can enjoy splashing and exploring the water, and older children can work on their fine motor skills and coordination by transferring and exploring the materials.
Water play like this provides a rich sensory experience that children love to return to again and again.
3.Autumn/Fall Egg Box Hunt
Take your autumn or fall scavenger hunt outside with this simple egg box activity. It's a lovely way to encourage little ones to slow down and notice the seasonal treasures around them.
What You'll Need:
- An empty egg box
- Autumn treasures
- Our autumn nature hunt printable
How to Play
Print out our nature hunt and stick it inside the top of your egg box. Put on your wellies, go outdoors and encourage your child to find all the autumn treasures shown on the printable.
As they find each item, they can place it into a section of the egg box. You can talk about the different colours, shapes and textures as you go.
Searching for the different objects encourages observation, concentration and early classification skills, while collecting and handling them also develops fine motor skills.
4. Leaf Art
Got a little leaf collector at home? Then this activity is for you! Leaf art is a lovely way to encourage creativity and self-expression while developing fine motor control through drawing, painting and carefully handling the leaves.
What You'll Need:
- Fresh autumn leaves
- Paint sticks
- Acrylic paint pens
- Paper
-
PlayTRAY
How to Play
Collect a selection of fresh leaves (you don’t want them too brittle) in different shapes and colours. Let your child decorate them with paint sticks, then use acrylic pens to add patterns, lines and details.
You could also stick the leaves onto paper to create pictures, characters or simple autumn scenes. There's no right or wrong way to do it – let their imagination lead the way!
The PlayTRAY compartments are perfect for keeping pens, paints and crafty bits organised while you get creative. Then simply pop the lid on and save everything for another day.
5. Autumn/Fall Letter Hunt
Turn letter recognition into a hands-on autumn activity by hiding letters in a PlayTRAY filled with a sensory base. It's a simple way to practise early literacy skills without making it feel like learning.
What You'll Need:
- A sensory base such as rice, lentils or dried pasta
- Uppercase and lowercase letters
- PlayTRAY
-
Alphabet Letters Printable
How to Play
Fill your PlayTRAY with your chosen sensory base and hide the upper and lowercase letters inside.
Encourage your child to find the letters and match each one to the corresponding upper or lowercase letter on the Alphabet Letters Printable. For an extra fine motor challenge, get them to pick up the letters using tongs.
6. Pumpkin Sensory Bin
Pumpkins are one of the best things about autumn and fall, so why not bring them into sensory play? This simple setup combines sensory exploration with early maths, and is also a great option for children who aren't keen on slimy or wet textures.
What You'll Need:
How to Play
Cut up some wool/yarn and fill your PlayTRAY. Sprinkle some pumpkin seeds amongst the yarn and add your Number Set. Invite your child to retrieve the numbers with tongs and transfer them into the bowls. The soft, dry texture of the yarn provides a gentler sensory experience for children who may be reluctant to explore wet or slimy materials.
For older children, you could incorporate the operation symbols and challenge them to make simple sums.
This is a wonderful, hands-on way to introduce early maths concepts through play while developing fine motor control, hand strength and hand-eye coordination.
Ready for some Autumn Play?
Autumn is full of simple opportunities for sensory and creative play. You don't need lots of complicated resources – a few seasonal treasures, some simple tools and a little imagination are often all you need to create meaningful play experiences.
Try one of these activities this week and see where your child's curiosity takes them!
More Sensory Play Ideas
If you’re new to sensory play, sign up to our newsletter. You’ll receive a FREE Beginner’s Guide to Sensory Play plus weekly ideas and inspiration straight to your inbox.
