• Home
  • About
  • Shop
  • Sign Up For My Newsletter
  • Contact

Parenting From The Heart

a place for parents who aren't perfect but are trying their best

  • Pregnancy & Babies
  • Parenting Toddlers
  • Young Children
  • Tweens and Beyond
  • Education
You are here: Home / Play-Based Learning Activities / Fall Toddler Activities that you can enjoy too!

October 7, 2015 By Alana Pace 24 Comments

Fall Toddler Activities that you can enjoy too!

As the air turns from humid heat to crisp and cool, it seems the inner crafter in so many of us comes out. A new school year, the start of Holiday Season, and, well Pinterest makes Fall an exciting time to get elbow deep in whatever you, your kids, and again, Pinterest may dream up. My Fall Pinterest board is in full swing. Here are some easy fall toddler activities we have already had fun with this season!

 

Easy Fall Toddler Activities That Require Minimal Prep

Pumpkin Play Dough

These Fall Toddler activities are REALLY easy to set up and your toddler can do with minimal help! Make Fall Lanterns, engage in sensory play using pumpkin play dough, make a 1 minute Fall wreath, toilet paper roll owls and more! Play based learning, learning through play, toddlers, preschoolers, Fall fun.

I’ve seen a number of recipes for Pumpkin Spice Play Dough. Unfortunately, I haven’t found pumpkin spice. I have, however, found an abundance of canned pumpkin. So, I decided to do my best at making a recipe. It took some trial and error but I’m really happy with how it eventually turned out! Here is my recipe. NB I like making a lot of play dough so that both kids can play with a fair bit. Feel free to cut the recipe in 1/2 if you so choose 🙂

 

What To Use
  • ½ cup pumpkin puree
  • 4 cups flour (set aside ½ cup)
  • 2 ½ TBS cream of tartar (buy this at a bulk store or bulk section to save money)
  • ½ cup salt
  • 2 TBS vegetable oil
  • ½ TBS Cinnamon (optional)
  • 1½ boiling water
  • Yellow and red food colouring or a bit of orange paint (about 1 TBS)
What To Do

I set aside ½ a cup of flour. Taking the remaining 3 ½ cups of flour, all the dry ingredients, and the pumpkin puree, I mixed as well as I could using a wooden spoon. Then I added the boiling water. Once it had cooled, my daughter and I kneaded the dough, adding flour in as needed. We were going for a non-sticky, highly malleable consistency. If you get it to the point it has too much flour add about 1 TBS of pumpkin and kneaded until desired consistency is reached.

 

Fall Lanterns

A video posted by Alana-Parenting From The Heart (@parentfromheart) on Sep 30, 2015 at 4:02pm PDT


Thank you to Twitchetts (one of my favourite blogs) for this WONDERFUL idea. Susie made Halloween versions, I decided to take some small maple leaves to make Fall versions of hers. We will likely make some Halloween ones too.

We took a couple of dry, small, not entirely flat, maple leaves, an empty mason jar and another empty glass jar, Elmer’s glue, a very small amount of food colouring, and mixed. We painted the jars and added a little bit of Elmer’s glue to the back of the leaves to secure them. If using them outside, I recommend spraying with a varnish as the glue/ food colouring mixture is water-soluble. See the entire how-to from Twitchetts here.

 

Pumpkin Stamping

These Fall Toddler activities are REALLY easy to set up and your toddler can do with minimal help! Make Fall Lanterns, engage in sensory play using pumpkin play dough, make a 5 minute Fall wreath, toilet paper roll owls and more! Play based learning, learning through play, toddlers, preschoolers, Fall fun.

 

So simple, so great! Take mini pumpkins (we’ve also used apples), cut in half, puncture with salad forks to act as handles for the “stamps.” Take a plate and put a little bit of yellow, red, and orange paint. Then, let your kids have at ‘er!

 

Toilet Paper Roll Owls

These Fall Toddler activities are REALLY easy to set up and your toddler can do with minimal help! Make Fall Lanterns, engage in sensory play using pumpkin play dough, make a 1 minute Fall wreath, toilet paper roll owls and more! Play based learning, learning through play, toddlers, preschoolers, Fall fun.

 

What To Use
  • Toilet paper rolls
  • Washable paint
  • Googly eyes
  • Hot glue gun
  • Craft feathers or coffee filters
  • Tops of broken yellow crayons (I always keep our broken ones for crafting), dried corn kernels, or Captain Crunch cut diagonally for the beaks
What to Do

The kids painted their toilet paper rolls. When close to dry, I folded the top of the roll down, and put a bit of glue on it, then I folded the other half on top of the glue to make the top of the owl look Great Horned.  Then, I put two small drops of glue on the owl’s face, then my kids put on the eyes. I helped secure the beak and put the feathers on. When we haven’t had feathers, we’ve painted and used coffee filters.


 

DIY Window Clings

I wish I could take credit for this fantastic idea. All you need is a plastic smooth surface to work from, ideally (but not necessarily) cookie cutters, Elmer’s glue, a tiny bit of dish soap, and food colouring. If you want white/black use a very small amount of white paint. I recommend using a heavy hand when painting your solution to get the best results. See the original post from Teaching Mama here.

These Fall Toddler activities are REALLY easy to set up and your toddler can do with minimal help! Make Fall Lanterns, engage in sensory play using pumpkin play dough, make a 5 minute Fall wreath, toilet paper roll owls and more! Play based learning, learning through play, toddlers, preschoolers, Fall fun.

 

 

Fall Sensory Bin

Views from a Step Stool is jam-packed with educationally rich play ideas. Katie’s recent sensory bin idea is one we will definitely be trying. I love how she underscores the calming aspect of this. See her how-to here.

 

30 Second Fall Wreath

These Fall Toddler activities are REALLY easy to set up and your toddler can do with minimal help! Make Fall Lanterns, engage in sensory play using pumpkin play dough, make a 1 minute Fall wreath, toilet paper roll owls and more! Play based learning, learning through play, toddlers, preschoolers, Fall fun.

We have just moved into our first place that isn’t an apartment. And as a result, we have the great pleasure of seeing everyone’s beautiful fall wreaths displayed throughout our neighbourhood. Yesterday, I bought a wreath made from branches at Michael’s (less than $7), some faux fall leaves (less than $3), I already had the pumpkin, and the glue gun. Using a bit of hot glue on the end of each leaf, my daughter and I made an embellishment on the bottom of the wreath. Then, I glued the pumpkin in the centre, et voila! For the life of me, I couldn’t find our wreath hanger-thing so I used an actual hanger.

 

Want more great ideas like these Fall Toddler Activities? Click below <3

 

The undeniable power of play is filled with play-based learning ideas for early learners

Filed Under: Play-Based Learning Activities Tagged With: diy, easy crafts, fall activities, fall lanterns, learning through play, pumpkin play dough, toddler activities

Subscribe to get the latest

free goodies straight to your inbox

Previous Post: « Time
Next Post: 10 Considerations When Accepting Sponsored Blog Posts »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. shelahmoss says

    October 8, 2015 at 1:10 am

    Wow! Halloween must be amazing at your house. You are so full of creative ideas. My favorite is the Halloween wreath,

    Reply
    • Alana says

      October 8, 2015 at 2:55 am

      You’re too kind Shelah!

      Reply
  2. Melissa (Wading Through Motherhood) says

    October 8, 2015 at 1:27 am

    So many fun, cute ideas here!

    Reply
    • Alana says

      October 8, 2015 at 2:55 am

      Thanks, Melissa!

      Reply
  3. mommyinsports says

    October 8, 2015 at 1:07 am

    Super cute! I found Pumpkin Essence (extract) at HOme Goods, but I’m sure the pumpkin puree was amazing! Love the pumpkin stamping, totally trying that!

    Reply
    • Alana says

      October 8, 2015 at 2:55 am

      Oh I wish I knew there was pumpkin extract! Thanks so much for reading & the stamping is so simple & so fun!

      Reply
  4. twitchetts.com says

    October 9, 2015 at 12:12 pm

    I love all of these ideas!! I really want to do the pumpkin stamping, and the play dough, and of course loving those jars 😉

    Reply
  5. Lindsey Smallwood says

    October 9, 2015 at 3:33 pm

    Love this list – I am thinking of making the play dough, I’ve been wanting to do that for awhile anyway. Thanks for the inspiration.

    Reply
    • Alana says

      October 9, 2015 at 3:34 pm

      Thanks so much for reading, Lindsey!

      Reply
  6. Alyssa from The Sparkly Life says

    October 9, 2015 at 3:07 pm

    these are great! totally going to try the toilet paper owl with my five year old. she’ll love it! thank you for these.

    Reply
    • Alana says

      October 9, 2015 at 3:32 pm

      Thanks so much, Alyssa!

      Reply
  7. Tarynn Playle says

    October 9, 2015 at 3:26 pm

    I love these!! I don’t know which one the kiddos and I should try first! Pinning!!

    Reply
    • Alana says

      October 9, 2015 at 3:31 pm

      Oh that’s so sweet ❤️ they’re all a lot of fun. But I think Pumpkin stamping has been our go-to the most

      Reply
  8. Betsy says

    October 9, 2015 at 3:56 pm

    The maple leaf jars are beautiful! Great crafty ideas!

    Reply
    • Alana says

      October 9, 2015 at 3:58 pm

      Thanks so much, Betsy!

      Reply
  9. Rebekah @ Surviving Toddlerhood says

    October 10, 2015 at 6:44 am

    This is a great collection of fall activities Alana! Pinning!

    Reply
    • Alana says

      October 11, 2015 at 12:16 pm

      Thanks so much, Rebekah!

      Reply
  10. kimberlycox2014 says

    October 14, 2015 at 12:16 am

    So many awesome ideas. Definitely snagging some of these for the next 2.5 weeks of fun 🙂

    Reply
    • Alana says

      October 14, 2015 at 12:22 am

      Thanks so much for reading, Kimberly! I hope you enjoy these ❤️

      Reply
  11. Kids Dentist Helper Shivaun says

    October 25, 2015 at 2:30 pm

    Cute ideas Alana, I love the pumpkin play dough which I think my kids will also love. Thanks for sharing these great ideas.

    Reply
    • Alana says

      October 25, 2015 at 4:49 pm

      Thanks so much for reading!

      Reply
  12. keepingpacewithlearning says

    September 17, 2016 at 4:17 pm

    awesome activities, bound to create hours of fun!

    Reply
    • Alana says

      September 18, 2016 at 9:50 pm

      Thanks, Ma! We have had a blast with these Fall toddler activities!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar


Hi! I'm Alana. When I'm not nursing cold, stale coffee, I usually can be found with the baby on my hip, barefoot, and racing after my two older kids. Thanks to a degree in psychology and a free-range childhood backing onto an expansive evergreen forest, positive parenting and play-based learning are my passions. Read more here.

Stay up to date

Join me on Instagram

parentfromheart

Alana-Parenting From The Heart
Me to my 5yo: stay still I want to take your pictu Me to my 5yo: stay still I want to take your picture.
My 5yo:
A beautiful reminder to find little ways to connec A beautiful reminder to find little ways to connect with our children ❤️❤️❤️
Often people fear responsive parenting will create Often people fear responsive parenting will create needy kids. 

Developmental research suggests otherwise. 

The more reliably and compassionately that we respond to our children’s needs, the more secure and assured they feel to venture out into the world.

Attachment & independence aren’t two opposite sides of a spectrum but two sides of the same coin.
😍Yep - Absolutely love this. via @Angela Anagno 😍Yep - Absolutely love this.
via @Angela Anagnost-Repke, Writer
Every. single. time I see this I laugh out loud 🤣🤣🤣
I can't think of anything more true.
via https://twitter.com/amydillon
Yes 👏👏👏 via @DissociativeDiaries Yes 👏👏👏
via @DissociativeDiaries
Every. Day. Via Matt Beaudreau Every. Day.

Via Matt Beaudreau
I remember in my earlier days of parenting when I I remember in my earlier days of parenting when I had two under two so much of my life was spent thinking I’ll be happy when…

I’ll be happy when they sleep through the night.

I’ll be happy when my husband doesn’t have to work such late hours.

I’ll be happy when I look and feel like myself again and not a feeding troth 😬😬😬

As it turns out this struggle with finding happiness isn’t unique to me or parenting. 

Collectively our mental health is suffering, but there are many research backed ways to improve happiness. (Link in bio to read more).
♥️♥️ via Heather Shumaker ♥️♥️

via Heather Shumaker
THIS. 🙌🙌 (Follow Maryfairy Boberry) THIS. 🙌🙌 (Follow Maryfairy Boberry)
👣 via @creativechildmag 👣

via @creativechildmag
via Happy as a Mother 🙂❤ via Happy as a Mother 🙂❤
Though there are countless people who understand t Though there are countless people who understand the importance of positive, responsive parenting, the idea that young children should self-soothe remains a prevalent belief.

Though this ideology is well-intentioned, it actually goes against what we know about human development.

Babies come into the world highly dependent on responsive caregiving not only for nurturance and protection but also to foster social and emotional development.

While it may seem that leaving a child to cry will help her learn to cope, it actually floods her brain with cortisol. She doesn’t learn to self-soothe but instead to shut down.

Though it may seem counterintuitive to some, independence is fostered through responsive care. The less stressed a child feels, the safer he feels to explore his world. The less stressed he feels, the more appropriate his emotional responses become.

This is first seen in late infancy but pervades through childhood and adulthood.

Have any questions about these findings? Feel free to comment below or send me a message!
❤️❤️❤️❤️ Teach Through Love ❤️❤️❤️❤️ Teach Through Love
via @unconditional_parenting. via @unconditional_parenting.
via The Outnumbered Mother via The Outnumbered Mother
❤❤❤ ❤❤❤
😂 😂
So often independence and attachment are thought t So often independence and attachment are thought to be mutually exclusive.
However, research shows that in order for children (and adults) to be independent, they need to feel safe and secure within their closest relationships. In childhood, this means having caregivers who respond to distress and both emotional and physical needs.
In adulthood, people who have responsive and caring partners feel more stable and comfortable being independent.
So hold and comfort those babies.
Hug and respond to your kids.
Love and hold space for the adults you are closest to.
Attachment fosters independence.
Absolutely this. Via Living FULL Absolutely this. Via Living FULL
Load More… Follow on Instagram

Footer

Privacy policy

Terms | Conditions | Privacy Policy

Let’s Connect

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Looking for something?

Copyright © 2023 · Market Theme On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Infinus

2122 shares
  • 14