50 Autumn Activities for Toddlers: Easy and Fun Ideas

Autumn is a truly beautiful time of the year and today I’m sharing loads of great ideas to help you celebrate the change in seasons with this round up of autumn activities for toddlers.

I’ve updated this post to include over 50 ideas and with printables, sensory activities, crafts and painting ideas there’s loads of inspiration to keep you busy and most importantly having lots of fun together, whether you’re planning a fall theme at preschool or kindergarten or just want to have some creative fun at home with your child.

As there are so many ideas in this I’ve split this into two sections to make it easier to navigate – Autumn Crafts for Toddlers and Easy Autumn Activities for Toddlers. There’s tons of inspiration in both lists including autumn tree crafts, leaves, hedgehogs and apples.

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Autumn Activities for Toddlers

We love sharing simple ideas and I’ve shared over 200 activities for toddlers on this site so if you need more inspiration be sure to check them out!

These activities are designed with toddlers in mind as well as preschoolers so they should be suitable for one and two year olds as well as three and four year olds.

As you will know there is a lot of difference between what children are able to do at each age and in their interests too so take a look through the list to find the activities that are the best for your child. You will, of course, need to supervise all activities too.

This post was originally called 40+ Autumn Activities for Toddlers but over the last few years the list has grown as I’ve added new fall activities to it so I’ve updated the post to reflect that.

There are so many fun fall activities out there that this list continues to grow each year so it’s worth bookmarking this page or pinning an image so you can return to it again, I there’s over 50 fall activities for toddlers on it now!

To see the instructions or tutorial for each of these simple autumn activities just click on the title of it.

Want more inspiration? Check out the posts at the end of this page for more fun themed activities for toddlers including inspiration for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Autumn Books For Toddlers

I love reading and I love sharing stories with my kids in the hope that it will encourage a life long love of reading in them as well. I’ve totally done that thing where you have to read The Gruffalo every night for three months non-stop so where I can I like to try and encourage my kids to try new books!

I think that sharing themed stories to do with what your child is interested in or learning about is a great way to do this and all the books below are autumn themed books for toddlers – worth checking out for some new ideas!

Autumn Crafts for Toddlers

Autumn Leaf Suncatchers

These gorgeous suncatchers are ones that I made with my kids and they’re one of our most popular fall crafts with parents too.

We love the bright colors that you get from using cellophane and we had ours displayed in our window for ages.

They’re great both for fine motor skills and learning about color mixing and you can watch the video on this page for a quick tutorial on how they’re made or click through for the full instructions.

Apple Stamping

For our take on a classic craft activity try out this apple painting craft that uses one of our free templates and real apples.

Paper Plate Autumn Tree

Paper plates are one of my favorite craft materials for toddlers and preschoolers because they’re so cheap and they can cope with having a lot of paint or glue or glue put on them.

This paper plate craft uses tissue paper to make the leaves on the autumn tree.

Paper Plate Apples

This is another easy craft that I did with my kids and using the pegs as we did allows for kids to use paints without (hopefully!) getting too messy.

Handprint Hedgehog Craft

On the other hand if you don’t mind a little mess then this hedgehog craft is a great choice and would be a really fun keepsake as well.

I made this handprint hedgehog with my daughter and we both loved the way it turned out. You can use one of our free printable templates to help you create it too.

Pom Pom Apple Tree

This apple tree craft is one that I made with my daughter when she was two years old. It’s great for fine motor skills and she really enjoyed it too.

Squirrel Art

This time of year is perfect for creating some woodland animal art activities and our resist art squirrel craft is a great place to start using this easy and fun art technique and one of our free designs.

Acorn Collage Art

Use our template to make this easy acorn craft, it’s a great way to use up any craft supplies you have lying around and a fun way to explore different textures.

Duplo Apple Tree

For a simple fall idea using a material you probably own already try our apple tree craft that’s painted using Duplo bricks.

Tissue Paper Apple Craft

Use red and green scrunched tissue paper to make this simple apple craft that’s perfect for toddlers.

Apple Suncatchers

Suncatcher crafts are always poplar in our home and my kids really enjoyed making these apple themed ones.

Younger toddlers can scrunch the cellophane while older preschoolers may be able to practice cutting it.

Foil Painted Pumpkin

This easy pumpkin craft pumpkin is a great choice for little hands to make and it can be adapted to make a Halloween craft too.

Paper Hedgehog Craft

Using scissors is possibly going to be too advanced for most toddlers but you can cut out the strips in advance for this paper hedgehog craft and they can stick them on to make the spines.

Mess Free Autumn Tree Craft

Can’t face the mess today? Try out this autumn tree craft which can help teach color mixing too.

Tissue Paper Corn Craft

Corn can be a really popular topic in autumn with both harvest and Thanksgiving crafts and this corn craft is perfect for little hands to make as they scrunch and tear the paper.

Toilet Roll Owl

Grab those paper rolls and make this easy owl craft where you’ll be printing the feathers using toilet rolls.

Lego Autumn Leaves Craft

Make an autumn tree together using Lego or Duplo to print the leaves.

Popcorn Fall Tree Craft

This autumn themed tree made using popcorn is one that I made with my kids when my daughter was two and my son was five.

Potato Stamps

I love the way these autumn leaf potato stamps from How Wee Learn look, they’re perfect for making tree crafts with or using on their own.

Torn Paper Apples

Practice tearing with this torn paper apple craft.

Conker Snake

This horse chestnut snake from Red Ted Art is the perfect excuse to go for an autumnal walk while you look for materials!

Dot Sticker Autumn Tree

Decorate an autumn tree using dot stickers following this tutorial from Fun Learning for Kids.

Leaf Monster Puppets

Make some fun leaf art with these leaf monster puppets from Messy Little Monster that are great for playing with too.

Build An Owl Craft

Toddlers and preschoolers can help to make this cut and paste owl by coloring in the free printable and gluing parts together that an adult has cut out for them.

Paper Plate Scarecrow

Toddlers can color the scarecrow for this scarecrow craft but will need a grown up to help cut the shape out.

Pumpkin Keepsake

If you’re thinking of visiting a pumpkin patch this year then why not create this pumpkin craft stick craft  from Fireflies and Mudpies together.

Cork Printed Tree

Rainy Day Mum shares how to make a cork printed autumn tree with loads of gorgeous colors.

Mess Free Pumpkin

This pumpkin craft can help kids learn how to create the color orange.

Washi Tape Fall Leaves

Make some autumn leaves using colored washi tape.

Autumn Activities for Toddlers

Autumn Tree Painting Ideas

These easy ideas for painting autumn trees are really popular every year and you can use our free printable template to help you make it too, perfect if you fancy trying a few ideas.

We use the most basic craft supplies that you probably own already and the results look fantastic!

Outdoor Scavenger Hunt

Get outside and look for all of our themed items, coloring in each one as you find it with this free printable.

Contact Paper Autumn Tree

My son loved using real fall leaves that we picked up on our way home from his preschool to make this autumn tree.

Pinecone Rolling

We always enjoy trying out different ways to create hands on art and if you don’t mind getting a little messy then this activity painting with pinecones is good fun!

Fall Playdough Mats

playdough is normally really popular with toddlers and preschoolers and we have twelve different designs available in our free fall themed playdough mats pack including acorns, leaves, pie and pumpkins.

Hedgehog Template

Grab this free template that’s perfect for autumn and try some of our ideas for decorating it.

Bleeding Tissue Fall Tree

Bleeding tissue paper is a really fun activity to try with kids as the dye stains the paper next to it, this works really well with autumn colors to make this pretty tree craft.

Autumn Coloring Page

Coloring sheets are always great as a low prep fun activity for kids and this autumn themed one with apples and pumpkins is great for kids all you need to do is print it and grab some crayons or markers.

Autumn Leaf Painting Ideas

Grab the paints and decorate templates of autumn leaves using pom poms and foil to create texture.

Autumn Ice Tower

Add leaves and acorns to ice for kids to explore.

Autumn Fine Motor Skills Activity

Use squares of scrap paper to make this A is for Autumn activity.

Fall Wreath

Download our free Christmas wreath template and then give it a seasonal update and turn it into a fall wreath by decorating it with natural materials like leaves and bark, coloured stickers or painting it with reds. yellows, orange and green.

Leaf Template

Colour or paint this free autumn leaf template.

Autumn Sensory Bin

The Natural Homeschool shares how to make a fall themed sensory bin with rice and pumpkins that’s perfect for preschoolers.

Cinnamon Playdough

I bet this homemade cinnamon scented playdough from Natural Beach Living smells amazing!

Pumpkin Slime

Little Bins For Little Hands has a great looking recipe for pumpkin slime that your toddler will love to play with.

It uses real pumpkin and I bet the scents are amazing too!

Balloon Printed Apples

Got some balloons left over from parties? Try printing apples using them.

Mess Free Acorn Activity

This mess free acorn themed activity is perfect for practising mark making.

Apple Themed Writing Tray

Try this easy apple themed tray perfect for practicing mark making.

Rolling Acorn Painting

Make some process art with this simple activity.

Acorn Template

Paint or colour this free template with a basic design that’s perfect for younger kids.

Autumn Scavenger Hunt Playdough

Make some simple sensory play with this autumnal themed playdough that’s a great excuse to go for a walk while you look for supplies.

Pumpkin Template

Try out some of the art and craft ideas with this free printable.

Fall Sensory Bin

Teach Me Mommy shares an seasonal sensory bin using lentils, barley and leaves.

Leaf Process Art

Messy Little Monster shares some toddler and preschooler friendly process art that’s perfect for autumn.

Leaf Threading

Take inspiration from that pile of leaves outdoors and turn them into a beautiful decoration with this activity from Picklebum.

Autumn Playdough

Grab the simple recipes for this autumn scented playdough from Rainy Day Mum.

Nature Exploration

Try out this easy activity Schooltime Snippets using natural materials and a mirror that’s perfect for babies and toddlers.

Yarn Apples

This activity from Red Ted Art would be a great way to use up any left over yarn you have.

Leaf Hedgehog

This sweet hedgehog from Messy Little Monster looks really cute.

Apple Science Experiment

Preschool Powol Packets shares some edible bubble science using apples.

Leaf Science Experiment

Crate an easy leaf science experiment following this tutorial from Preschool Powol Packets.

More Fun Activities for Toddlers

We love this round up of Halloween activities for toddlers with over 40 fun ideas!

Love Thanksgiving? Get the kids ready with these fun and easy Thanksgiving activities for toddlers

 

Or (and sorry if it’s too early to mention this yet!) but we have a great round up of Christmas activities for toddlers too.