Autumn Nature Activities That Kids Will Love

Autumn Nature Activities That Kids Will Love

Really Fun Autumn Activities For Kids

Don’t you just love watching the seasons change?  These Autumn nature activities are the perfect way to get kids exploring and enjoying the outdoors this season.

 

This lovely selection of nature activities to celebrate autumn is taken from my free Adventures in Nature Autumn ‘Curriculum’ (you really should take a look at it if you haven’t already!)

Autumn Nature Curriculum

 

So, here are a collection of 30+ autumn nature activities for kids.

I’ve divided them into a few themes and if you download my Adventures in Nature Curriculum you can explore the various autumn themes in more detail with the suggested books.

 

Autumn Nature Activities

Autumn Seed Activities

The first set of activities explores the various seeds you can find during the Autumn. So, take a walk and keep your eyes peeled for acorns, conkers, beech nuts and pine cones:

1. Nature Bracelet 

Wrap some sturdy tape around your child’s wrist (sticky side facing outwards). As they walk they can attach leaves and seeds that they find along the way.

Remember to have a conversation with your children about any poisonous or rare plants you may have in your local area. There are some plants my boys know not to touch like foxgloves and hogweed. Only pick when it is safe to do so and there is an abundance of something.

 

2. Create a Nature Masterpiece using blackberry ink. (Recipe included in Autumn Curriculum download).

 

3. Make little leaf jars.

Pop a leaf and its seed in little spice jars and label them.

Autumn leaf jar activity

 

4. Explore and group seeds. 

Read a book like A Seed Is Sleepy by Dianna Aston and talk about the seeds you’ve collected. How are they dispersed (spread) across the land…Do they get blown by the wind? Float downstream? Get eaten and pooped out? Pop? 

Can you group them by some of their properties?

 

5. Press seed pods in clay.

Make a circle with air dry clay and stamp your seed on one side and the  corresponding leaf on the other side.

 

6. Look at seeds under a magnifying glass or handheld microscope.

Sketch what you see in your nature journal.

 

7. Use seed pods and other items to decorate a cardboard mask.

Buy a 3D papier mache mask to decorate or simple cut an oval out of cardboard. Decorate with nature finds.

 

8.Leaf Lanterns 

Sandwich helicopter seeds  and leaves between 2 sheets of glued greaseproof paper. Roll into a cylinder shape and stick camembert box or similar on one side. Add an LED light.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B3FelElIKfS/?igshid=1i2qn0cinl41p

Hedgehog Activities 

1. Make a hedgehog home.

Lay a crate on the ground.  Pile up twigs and cover with leaves to create a hedgehog habitat.

Hedgehog shelater diy

 

2. Clay hedgehogs.

Make a little hedgehog shape with clay and decorate it with twigs for spines.

 

3. Pine cone hedgehogs.

Collect some pinecones and make hedgehogs by gluing on some googly eyes.

 

4. Paper plate hedgehogs

Fold a paper plate in half, colour it brown, glue on an eye and use scissors to snip some spines along the curved edge.

5. Hedgehog Collage

Draw a hedgehog on a sheet of paper and decorate with leaves or twigs.

 

Autumn Leaf Activities 

1. Mud Faces

Splodge a handful of mud onto a tree and use fallen leaves and seeds to make funny faces or tree monsters.

Mud faces autumn nature activity

 

2. Autumn Leaf Bracelet

Thread leaves onto string to make an Autumn bracelet.

3. Leaf Mask

Decorate a mask using fallen leaves.

4. Autumn Finds Collage

Create a collage using things you collect on your nature walk.

5. Autumn Mobile

Create a natural mobile using branches and leaves.

6. Wax Resist Ribbings

Make some wax resist leaf rubbing paintings by placing a leaf under some paper and rubbing with a candle. Now use water colours on top of the wax.

7. Rock Friends 

Draw a face on a rock and glue leaves on for hair.

8. Elf and Fairy Outfits

Make some elf outfits using leaves and petals.

 

9. Dragon Eggs

Make a dragon egg by covering a stone in clay and decorating with golden leaves and other bits.

 

Owl Activities For Autumn

1. Barn Owl Mobile

Visit barnowltrust.org.uk and make a barn owl mobile.

2. Owl Suncatcher

Create an owl suncatcher by cutting an owl shape in black card and cutting out detail. Glue coloured tissue paper behind.

3. Make a Quill

Make a quill by cutting a point at the top of a feather and write with blackberry ink (see recipe).

4. Owl Pellet Dissection

Not for the squeamish but a really interesting activity. You can either dissect a pellet you find or but one cheaply online. Use an online bone chart to work out what you’ve found.

 

5. Stuffed Owl

Stuff an old brown or black sock and use a glue gun to attach feathers for wings, twig claws, a leaf face and other natural items for eyes and a beak.

 

Pumpkin Activities For Autumn

1. Pumpkin Pie Playdough

Make pumpkin pie playdough and decorate with black cardboard shapes.

2. Choose a pumpkin

Visit a farm or garden to choose a pumpkin.

3. Pumpkin Mallet

Develop hand-eye-coordination by practicing hammering wooden nails into a pumpkin with a mallet.

4. Paint a pumpkin

Decorate a pumpkin with paints.

5. Pumpkin Pen Skills

Practice pen skills on a pumpkin with dry wipe marker then wipe clean.

6. Pumpkin Stamps

Cut a bruised apple in half, dip in orange paint and print pumpkin shapes. Draw on faces when dry.

Spider Activities For Autumn

1. Cute Clay Spiders

Make a lump of clay and stick 8 twigs in to make spider legs. You can also use natural finds to decorate with imprints.

2. Spider pebbles

Draw around pebbles with a pen and add 8 legs.

3. Spinning Webs

Pretend to be spiders and spin webs in your garden (using wool). Can you trap any grownups?

4. Watercolour Spiders 

Splodge some watercolour onto some paper and use straw to blow it so it looks like it has spidery legs.

5. Web Dream Catchers

Make a star shape with 3 twigs and wind wool between the sticks to make a web.

Bat Activities For Autumn

1. Bat Hands

Draw around your hands on black card and cut out. Glue them to a toilet tube painted black and draw on a cheeky face.

2. Bat Shapes

Cut a bat shape into thick cardboard and glue another piece of cardboard behind it. Fill in the bat shape with black beans.

3. Bat Branch

Cut out some paper bats to hang from a branch.

4. Pom pom Bat

Make a brown pompom and add some black felt wings.

5. Echolocation Game

Play the echolocation game (see instructions).

6. Toilet Roll Bats

Stick wings to the side of a toilet roll and paint black. Add googly eyes and hang upside down from a branch.

 

Squirrel Activities For Autumn

1. Squirrel Role Play

Pretend to be squirrels and go hunt acorns.

2. Build A Drey 

Draw a squirrel in the centre of a piece of paper. Glue collage pieces or natural materials to make a drey around it.

 

3. Fine Motor Acorns

Acorn challenge – can you move acorns from one pot to another with tongs or tweezers?

4. Playdough Mat

Have fun with a squirrel play dough mat.

5. Matching Acorn Caps

Paint acorns and their caps different colours and match them together.

6. Collage Tail

Print the squirrel picture and decorate by gluing leaves and cones to his tail. (See printable squirrel page in Nature Curriculum.)

 
I’d love to hear what you’re favourite autumn nature activities are…
 


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