Fun Fall Activities for Preschoolers

Fun fall activities for preschoolers blend seasonal exploration, creativity, sensory play, and learning, all ideal for supporting young children's development as they celebrate autumn.

Outdoor Adventures

Encourage preschoolers to get outside and immerse themselves in the changing season. Nature walks become treasure hunts for colorful leaves, acorns, and pinecones, prompting children to observe, collect, and compare natural objects. Simple activities like jumping into leaf piles or going on a “leaf hunt” introduce STEM concepts such as classification and observation, while fostering curiosity and wonder. Apple or pumpkin picking at a local farm lets children experience fall traditions firsthand, practice turn-taking, and learn how food grows.

• Leaf pile jumping and races add physical fun, balance, and coordination.
• Nature walk discoveries introduce magnifying glasses for close-up inspection of insects,
• leaf patterns, or rocks, sparking questions and discussion.

Creative Fall Crafts

Seasonal crafts invite preschoolers to express themselves while working on fine motor skills.

• Leaf Collage: Children gather leaves on walks, then glue them in patterns on construction paper, decorating with crayons or paint. This tactile art form enriches creativity and sensorial exploration.
• Pumpkin Decorating: Swap carving for painting, stickers, or gluing different craft materials onto pumpkins. This approach is safe, mess-free, and lets imaginations run wild.
• Handprint Fall Tree: Children stamp painted handprints onto paper trees, mixing autumn colors for festive artwork and sensory fun.

Other popular ideas include pine cone painting, DIY fall wreaths made from paper plates and fake leaves, and scarecrow-making with paper plates and construction paper.

Sensory Play

Fall-themed sensory bins provide hands-on, developmental fun. Fill containers with pinecones, dry pasta in fall colors, pumpkin seeds, shredded paper, mini pumpkins, and popcorn kernels. Children scoop, sort, pour, and feel the different textures, honing motor skills and exploring colors, shapes, and sounds.

DIY music makers are another favorite: Fill cardboard tubes with dried pasta or rice, seal the ends, and let children decorate them. Then shake and dance during musical play to support rhythm and coordination.

Learning Activities

Autumn brings many playful ways to reinforce emerging academic concepts.

• Fall Tree Counting Games: Draw tree outlines and label with numbers. Children count out foam or sticker “leaves” to match numbers and create a fall tree, practicing counting, matching, and sorting.
• Apple Tree Color Sort: Draw trees with colored circles, add apple stickers or labels, and let preschoolers sort by color, reinforcing early math and color identification.
• Leaf Color Patterns: Arrange leaf cutouts in repeating patterns on paper branches to nurture pattern recognition.

Outdoors, games with numbered leaves, apple stamps, or counting pumpkins extend these early math lessons naturally through play.

Autumn Snacks and Baking

Making festive snacks is a highlight of fall. Try baking pumpkin-shaped cookies, decorating them with colored icing, or dipping pretzels in orange yogurt and adding candy “stems.” Invite children to mix, measure, and count out ingredients to build math and teamwork skills. Kitchen play introduces concepts of following instructions, sharing, and sequencing.

Apple tastings are another favorite; let children sample different varieties and describe tastes, teaching vocabulary and healthy eating.

Cozy Story Time and Songs

Cuddle up with blankets for cozy read-aloud moments featuring autumn-themed books:

• “Pete the Cat: Falling for Autumn”
• “We Are Going on a Leaf Hunt”
• “The Leaf Thief”

Sing along with fall-themed songs like “Autumn Leaves Are Falling” and “Ten Little Turkeys,” weaving music, rhyme, and movement into daily routines.

Bringing Fall Learning to Life

Through these fun and educational activities, preschoolers experience the season with all their senses while building key skills: counting, sorting, observing, and creating. Whether indoors or outdoors, one-on-one or in small groups, fall offers countless opportunities for joyful learning, memory-making, and celebrating change.