Peanut butter and jelly are a classic childhood food pairing. However, in the fall, my kids prefer pairing peanut butter with pinecones and inviting the squirrels and birds to a feast. When the weather turns cooler, we gather pinecones, roll them in peanut butter and birdseed, and then hang them around the backyard for an edible art show.
Fall offers us an abundance of craft ideas to do with our little pumpkins…and all those cute little pumpkins at the patch too! Harvest your child’s creativity with these 12 art activities for preschoolers for fall.
A Crop of Ideas Using, Well, Fall Crops
1. Pumpkin Patch Picasso – Grab a small pumpkin, some paints or stickers, and let your little one decorate. This is one of those art activities for preschoolers for fall that makes a great playdate idea, too.
2. An Apple-solutely Sweet Print – If apple picking is one of your family fall traditions, save one or two of those Honeycrisps for this idea. Cut an apple in half at the core. Help your child dip each half in washable paint and press the apple-shaped stamp onto thick paper or a canvas. Make more “stamps” with other fruits and vegetables traditionally harvested in the fall, such as potatoes, carrots, and the tip of a celery stalk.
3. Let the Good Times (or Corn on the Cob) Roll – Turn corn into a paint roller! Give your child an uncooked cob of corn and invite her to roll it in paint and then on paper or a canvas. You can also cut the corncob in half so your child can use the pointier end like a paintbrush. Corncobs are large enough for even a young toddler to grip and provide great practice for sharpening those fine motor skills.
Just Gonna Leaf These Here
4. Let Fall Rub Off on You – Create a leaf rubbing using fall foliage. Place a leaf under a piece of white paper. Ask your child to gently rub the side of a peeled crayon on the paper to reveal the leaf pattern. Try it with different leaves and colors.
5. An Artful Hunt – Go on a Fall Scavenger Hunt and collect colorful leaves, sticks, pinecones, acorns, and other 
treasures your child finds to pocket along the way. Then use everything to make a nature collage together. Or grab a mixing bowl and let your child pretend to be a chef, creating a culinary masterpiece from your scavenger hunt ingredients.
6. The Crowning Glory – Collect leaves, twigs, fall wildflowers, and other natural finds to create whimsical fall crowns for your little prince or princess. First, cut a band of construction paper to make the crown base. Next, let your preschooler glue their nature finds onto it. Once the glue has dried, tape the ends of the construction paper together for their crowning moment.
7. The Eyes Have It – Googly eyes just make everything better. Take orange, yellow, red, or brown construction paper and cut out large leaf shapes. Then use crayons and googly eyes to make leaf people. Glue each “person” on a craft stick and let the pretend play begin!
Hands Down Favorite Art Activities for Preschoolers for Fall
8. Your Child’s Handiwork – Paint the palm and fingers of your child’s hand with fall leaf-colored paint. Then, help her press her full hand onto paper to create a handprint leaf. You can also use our LOVE YOU printable to create a fall-themed version for your home.
9. Take a Dip into the Season – On a piece of thick paper, draw the outline of a tree trunk and branches. Then, let your
child dip his fingers in red, yellow, and orange paint before dabbing them on the tree limbs to create fall leaves. Instead of fingertips, you can also use cotton swabs or the eraser end of an unsharpened pencil.
10. A Trace of Fall – Trace your child’s handprint on red, yellow, and orange construction paper. Cut out the handprint “leaves.” Then, help your child glue the “leaves” on a paper plate to create a colorful fall leaf wreath. (Then try saying “Fall Leaf Wreath” five times fast for some added good times.)
You’ve Got This in the Bag
11. Puppet People – Using a small, lunch-sized paper bag, create scarecrow puppets. You’ll need crayons, stickers, and googly eyes, of course. Pre-cut construction paper into shapes for the scarecrow’s hat and hay pieces to tuck under it. Let your little one do the gluing.
12. It’s the Great (Paper Bag) Pumpkin – Ask your child to color or paint a paper bag orange. Next, stuff the bag with crumpled newspaper or recycled mail until it’s as big as a pumpkin. Use your hands to work it into a round shape. Then, paint a green leaf or two at the top, or add some black cutouts for a jack-o’-lantern effect. Try using bags of different sizes and create a pumpkin family!
And, hey, art activities for preschoolers for fall don’t need to involve lots of materials. Print these fall coloring pages, grab the crayons, and let your child create a masterpiece in the back seat while you drive around looking at the foliage together. You can even see when the trees will peak in your area.
Which art activities for preschoolers for fall do you love to create with your little one?
