NAEYC Accredited, 5-Star Preschool in Greenville, NC.
Contact Us To Schedule A Tour Call: (252) 756-8200Autumn is a magical time for young children, filled with vibrant colors, crisp air, and endless opportunities for exploration. For toddlers, the changing season brings sensory delights—crunchy leaves, cozy scents, and fun activities that capture their curiosity and help them connect with the world around them. From nature walks to pumpkin patch adventures, there are so many ways to celebrate fall together.
At our 5 star preschool in Greenville, NC, we love incorporating seasonal activities into our curriculum to inspire learning and development. Here are some fun, simple autumn activities for toddlers you can enjoy this season.
Nature walks are a wonderful way for toddlers to explore and engage with the world around them. Take a stroll through a park or your backyard, encouraging your child to pick up leaves in different colors and sizes. Once home, these leaves can become part of simple activities like sorting by color, making leaf rubbings, or creating a leaf collage.
This activity helps toddlers build observation skills, learn new words, and experience different textures—all while enjoying the beauty of the season. It’s a simple, enriching way to add learning to everyday outings.
Create a simple picture checklist with easy to find outdoor items like a pinecone, a red leaf, a smooth rock, and similar types of objects, and start a toddler-friendly treasure hunt. Give your child a small bag and encourage them to choose where to look first, what to collect, and when to check items off.
This activity nurtures independence, curiosity, and problem-solving as children make choices and explore safely within boundaries. It also reflects the child-centered, developmentally appropriate practices you’ll find in our NAEYC-accredited classrooms.
After a walk or treasure hunt where your toddler gathered colorful leaves, tiny pine sprigs, and thin grasses, turn those great nature finds into royal accessories. Cut a strip from cardstock or a paper bag to fit your child’s head, then add loops of double-sided tape (or dots of glue) all the way around so little hands can easily press on their treasures.
This whimsical autumn craft idea strengthens fine motor skills and builds patterning and classification as children sort by color, size, or texture.
A trip to the pumpkin patch is a fall adventure that 2 year olds and 3 year olds love, filled with vibrant colors and fun activities. Let your child pick their very own pumpkin and take a scenic hayride to enjoy the sights of the season.
Visiting a farm introduces toddlers to new experiences and offers a chance to explore nature up close. Choosing their pumpkin also gives them a sense of independence and accomplishment. It’s a wonderful way to build seasonal traditions, create family memories, and make learning feel like an adventure.
As a follow up adventure after visiting the pumpkin patch, invite toddlers to roll mini pumpkins from a starting line to a finish line (created from sidewalk chalk or a strip of painter’s tape or fabric). Model two hands on the pumpkin, knees bent, eyes forward—then cheer them on.
This playful course builds gross motor skills, balance, and spatial awareness. Keep it cooperative with goals like “Can we get three pumpkins across the finish line together?”
Turn snack time into a mini science investigation with an apple tasting. Offer a few varieties (like Gala, Granny Smith, and Honeycrisp) and invite your toddler to notice the differences in color, texture, and taste. After sampling, make a simple “favorite apple” chart by placing stickers or drawing smiley faces under each type.
This hands-on STEM activity introduces early data collection and comparison in a playful way that weaves science, technology, engineering, and math into early learning.
Autumn-themed sensory play brings the textures and colors of fall right to your toddler’s hands. Create a sensory bin filled with items like dried corn kernels, small pumpkins, pinecones, and acorns for safe, supervised exploration. Toddlers can scoop, pour, and touch the different materials, which helps develop their fine motor skills and boosts sensory awareness.
This type of autumn activity for your toddler encourages curiosity and creativity, offering a hands-on way to learn about fall. Sensory bins are easy to set up and can provide hours of entertainment, making them a great activity for at home or on the go.
Fall crafts are a fantastic way to let pre-k aged children explore their creativity while celebrating the season. Simple activities like leaf painting, where they can stamp leaves onto paper with paint, or making handprint trees with fall colors, are perfect for little hands.
These crafts help toddlers practice fine motor skills, recognize colors, and express themselves through art. Plus, they’re easy to set up and can be done with basic supplies you already have at home. Craft time not only keeps them engaged but also gives you seasonal artwork to display and cherish.
Gather pinecones, spread a thin layer of sunbutter or peanut butter (if allergy-safe), and roll them in birdseed to make simple feeders. Hang them outside a window and check each day to see which birds stop by.
Toddlers practice fine motor skills while creating the feeder, then build observation skills by noticing bird colors, sizes, and movements. It’s an easy way to connect nature crafting with real-world science as the seasons change.
Collect acorns (or use large, toddler-safe counters) and small bowls. Practice simple counting—placing one acorn in each bowl—or make easy patterns like “one acorn, one pumpkin seed” and repeat.
Short, playful counting games support early math concepts like one-to-one correspondence and patterns. Keeping sessions brief and upbeat helps toddlers stay engaged while building foundations for number sense.
Building a scarecrow is a creative fall activity that toddlers can help with, making it a fun family project. Gather old clothes, a hat, and a few hay bales or leaves to stuff the scarecrow, allowing your toddler to help fill and dress it. This activity helps develop motor skills as they stuff and pat down the materials, and it encourages creativity as they help “design” the scarecrow.
Once finished, the scarecrow can be displayed in the yard as a fun seasonal decoration. It’s a unique way to celebrate fall and bring out your toddler’s artistic side.
Baking and cooking together are fun, hands-on ways for toddlers to engage their senses and learn new skills. Try simple recipes like pumpkin muffins or homemade applesauce, where they can help with safe tasks like stirring, mashing, or sprinkling cinnamon.
Cooking with toddlers offers them a chance to practice fine motor skills and follow simple instructions, all while discovering new textures and flavors. The experience also introduces basic math and science concepts as they see ingredients transform. Best of all, they’ll take pride in tasting something they helped make, making it a delightful and rewarding activity to share.
Reading fall-themed books together is a cozy way to spark curiosity and build language skills in toddlers. Choose books like Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert or Pumpkin Pumpkin by Jeanne Titherington, which use simple words and vibrant images to introduce autumn concepts.
Reading aloud helps toddlers expand their vocabulary, develop listening skills, and immerse themselves in seasonal stories. Snuggling up with a book also creates a special bonding time, turning a quiet moment into a cherished fall ritual. It’s an easy, relaxing way to bring the season to life while fostering a love for reading.
Create an autumn band with homemade instruments: a shaker from a spice jar and dry rice, a drum from an oatmeal canister, and rhythm sticks from wooden spoons. Put on upbeat music or clap a simple beat and march around the house or yard.
Music and movement nurture coordination, self-regulation, and auditory discrimination. Layer in playful challenges—“tiptoe like a fox,” “sway like tall grass,” “stomp like raindrops”—to connect motion with seasonal imagery.
Outdoor autumn activities for toddlers let children enjoy the crisp air while staying active. Simple activities like jumping in a leaf pile or rolling small pumpkins on the ground are both fun and great for developing coordination and balance. These games encourage toddlers to use their energy and explore movement in a playful setting. Plus, they’re easy to set up and can be done in your backyard or at the park.
Outdoor play in the fall connects toddlers to nature and provides a perfect way to enjoy the season’s beauty while building motor skills.
At Children’s Campus of Greenville, we’re passionate about incorporating seasonal activities that spark curiosity and foster growth. Our fall curriculum is filled with engaging hands-on experiences, from nature exploration to creative crafts, designed to support your child’s development in a nurturing environment.
Learn more about our early childhood programs by contacting us today to schedule a tour and see how we inspire learning through every season.
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