As The Weeknd says, “I come alive in the fall time.” I can’t stand the heat and I have no motivation. Give me sweater weather and chilly nights. There’s something magical about fall and I want to share that with my toddler as well.
Fall is a great way to teach your kids about seasons and the season of change. Since it’s no sweltering hot, nature walks are the perfect way to do so. Bring your beach bucket or a basket and grab supplies from nature!
Fall activities are my favorite and I’m excited to try another round of fall-related fun with my two-year-old this year.
Below is a list of fall activities we did last year that were easy and a hit with my toddler.
Apple Stamp – This activity is great because it’s EASY. All you need is an apple cut in half, paint, and paper. It’s a lot easier for toddlers to use the apple as a stamp with a fork in it.
This activity can also be combined with making apple pie or a tasty apple crisp with your child. Make it the letter ‘A’ day! Letting them help builds your child’s confidence and they’ll be so excited to eat something they made!
Pumpkin Stamp – Another simple fall activity requiring little effort on your part. This is two activities in one plus a dessert for your toddler and a snack for you!
Cut the top off of a small or medium-sized pumpkin. Your toddler may like scooping out the seeds but my one-year-old was too grossed out. Then grab some paint and paper and just like the apple, they can use the top of the pumpkin as a stamp. Just make sure you choose a pumpkin with the stem still attached.
Scoop out the rest of the pumpkin seeds and pumpkin guts as your toddler is making a circle masterpiece, wash the guts off the pumpkin seeds, and roast them with some oil and salt at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes and you have a snack for mom and dad too! (Pumpkin seeds are a choking hazard for children under 5 years old, so don’t give any to your toddler.)
After washing the pumpkin out, grab the ice cream, whipped cream, and watch your kid smile!
This year I’m going to make her an ice cream bar with some gummy worms and festive sprinkles.
Sunflower ABC’s Activity – I like easy. As a busy mom, there’s not a lot of time for planning elaborate crafts and activities for your kids. Most of the time, your toddler is not going to sit still long enough anyway to finish the activity and a sunflower is not going to look like a sunflower. Just let your toddler do their thing and don’t expect their artwork to even remotely look like what you intended.
They’re still learning and having fun regardless!
Supplies: (all of the items I found at our local Dollar Tree)
– paper plate
– brown and yellow paint
– black marker
– kid’s safety scissors
– dot labels
– paint brushes
While I painted the sunflower, I gave my daughter some paint and a paper plate too because unless I’m in the creative mood, I’m not planning these activities when she goes to bed. I’m too exhausted.
Let the paper plate dry during nap time and you have an activity ready for your toddler to fine-tune their motor skills and practice their ABCs. Write the same letters on more yellow dot labels but this time, allow your toddler to take the stickers off and match them with the letters on your sunflower.
This is perfect for a 2-3-year-old but can be adapted for a 1-year-old.
Collect fallen leaves, let them dry out overnight, and place them in a ziploc bag. Let your little one crush the leaves, then put the leaf confetti into an empty spice container. Let them go wild with glue in the brown area of the sunflower and show your toddler how to shake the leaf confetti over the glue (I’ll be doing this with my 2-year-old also!).
I did something similar with my daughter last year for a Halloween craft that I’ll be sharing on my blog also.