Fun Autumn Activities for Toddlers
Indoor and Outdoor Fall and Thanksgiving Crafts for Children
Nov 16, 2009
Autumn may be a season where it feels like the year is winding down and parents can take a deep breath between the heat of the summer and the hustle and bustle of the upcoming holiday season. Parents can take advantage of this lull to do some fun and engaging activities with their toddlers. With falling leaves and Thanksgiving on the horizon, it's the perfect time to do some fun crafts, indoors and outdoors.
Outdoor Autumn Activities
In much of the country, fall can be a time of changing colors and landscapes. Toddlers are very interested in their world so this is a great time to get outside and enjoy the changes. Parents can take nature walks and point out the leaves and the animals that are preparing for winter. Caregivers can help their toddlers gather pretty, colorful leaves for projects or just to enjoy.
Autumn is also the time when many communities have festivals focused around the season and pumpkins. The weather is usually mild enough to enjoy walking around local festivals with a toddler.
Indoor Autumn Activities
The leaves that were gathered during the nature walks don't have to go to waste. There are a variety of crafts that can be done with colorful, autumn leaves. Dried leaves are usually best after they have been flattened. One of the best ways to flatten and preserve leaves is to place them between two pieces of wax paper. Then they should be placed between two books for a few days. The wax paper will protect both the books and the leaves.
Parents can gather together glue, flattened leaves and construction paper to make a leaf collage with their toddler. Just by applying a bit of glue to the back of a leaf and pasting it onto the paper, a pretty keepsake can be created with minimal effort and mess.
Parents can also find autumn-themed coloring pages with a simple internet search. Using search terms like "fall coloring pages" or "autumn toddler coloring" will bring up a multitude of free coloring pages that toddlers will enjoy. Caregivers can talk with the children about the colors that they are using and try to help them match them with the colors that are being seen in the outdoors.
Thanksgiving Activities for Toddlers
Towards the end of autumn comes the Thanksgiving holiday. There are many Thanksgiving themed crafts that toddlers will love. Parents can use the leaves that were gathered to make a turkey craft. Parents can trace their child's hand to make the well-loved turkey or find a turkey drawing on the internet. Then using the leaves that were gathered, parents can help their child to glue or paste the leaves onto the paper to create the turkey feathers.
Another fun Thanksgiving-oriented craft activity is to make fall-inspired placemats. These placemats can be used and displayed at the Thanksgiving dinner. Parents can help their child arrange flattened leaves onto the sticky side of Con-Tact® paper. Then carefully put the other piece of Con-Tact® paper over the leaves, sticky side down. Parents can then use decorative scissors to trim the edges. Toddlers will love knowing that their craft is a real part of the Thanksgiving meal.
Autumn doesn't have to be a boring season in between fun holidays. These indoor and outdoor activities and crafts are sure to keep both children and parents happy and busy until the holidays.
 |
