30 Fall Craft Ideas for Preschool
Easy fall crafts for preschoolers. Leaf art, harvest themes, and autumn projects using simple materials.
Fall brings the best craft materials—colorful leaves, acorns, pumpkins, and a palette of warm oranges, reds, and yellows.
These 30 fall crafts are designed for real preschool classrooms. They use accessible materials, allow for creative variation, and celebrate what makes autumn special.
Leaf Crafts
Nature provides free art supplies every fall. Collect leaves before they crumble.
1. Leaf Rubbing Art
Place paper over leaves and rub with crayons. Layer multiple leaves for complex designs.
Materials: Leaves, paper, crayons (unwrapped for best results) Tip: Use autumn-colored crayons for cohesive artwork
2. Leaf Print Painting
Paint one side of a leaf, press onto paper, lift to reveal print. The veins create beautiful details.
Materials: Leaves, paint, paper Tip: Fresh leaves work better than dry ones
3. Leaf People
Glue leaves onto paper as bodies. Add drawn or paper faces, arms, and legs to create leaf people.
Materials: Leaves, paper, glue, markers
4. Leaf Crown
Tape or staple leaves to a paper strip headband. Children become autumn royalty.
Materials: Leaves, paper strips, tape or stapler
5. Leaf Sorting and Collage
Sort leaves by color, size, or shape. Then create collages with grouped leaves.
Materials: Assorted leaves, paper, glue Learning connection: Classification and attributes
6. Preserved Leaf Art
Press leaves between wax paper using a warm iron (adult only). Creates translucent leaf art for window display.
Materials: Leaves, wax paper, iron, newspaper Safety: Adult-only step for ironing
Pumpkin Projects
You don't need to carve to celebrate pumpkins.
7. Paper Plate Pumpkins
Paint paper plates orange. Add green paper stems and brown pipe cleaner vines.
Materials: Paper plates, orange paint, green paper, pipe cleaners
8. Pumpkin Seed Art
After exploring a pumpkin, wash and dry seeds. Glue seeds onto paper in designs or fill outlined shapes.
Materials: Pumpkin seeds, paper, glue Bonus: Save some seeds to roast for snack
9. Handprint Pumpkins
Paint palms orange and fingers green. Press onto paper—palm becomes pumpkin, fingers become stem and vines.
Materials: Orange and green paint, paper
10. Pumpkin Playdough
Add orange food coloring and pumpkin pie spice to homemade playdough. The scent enhances the sensory experience.
Materials: Homemade playdough ingredients, orange coloring, pumpkin spice
11. Torn Paper Pumpkin
Tear orange paper into pieces. Glue onto a pumpkin outline to create textured art.
Materials: Orange paper, glue, pumpkin outline Skills: Fine motor (tearing is harder than it looks)
12. Pumpkin Life Cycle
Create a sequence showing pumpkin seed → sprout → vine → flower → green pumpkin → orange pumpkin.
Materials: Paper, crayons or paint, scissors, glue
Tree and Apple Crafts
Capture changing seasons and harvest time.
13. Apple Stamping
Cut apples in half horizontally (star pattern) or vertically. Dip in paint and stamp.
Materials: Apples, paint, paper Tip: Different apple varieties create different stamp sizes
14. Handprint Tree
Paint arm and hand brown—arm is trunk, fingers are branches. Add fingerprint leaves in fall colors.
Materials: Brown, red, orange, yellow paint, paper
15. Cotton Ball Apple Tree
Draw a tree trunk. Glue cotton balls (dipped in green paint) as leaves and red pom poms as apples.
Materials: Paper, cotton balls, paint, pom poms, glue
16. Fall Tree Collage
Create tree trunks from brown paper. Add "leaves" using torn tissue paper, painted popcorn, or real crushed leaves.
Materials: Paper, brown construction paper, tissue paper or other leaf materials
17. Paper Bag Tree
Twist a brown paper bag to form a trunk. Tear the top into branches. Add fall-colored tissue paper leaves.
Materials: Brown paper bags, tissue paper, glue
Harvest Theme Crafts
Celebrate the season of plenty.
18. Corn Cob Painting
Use dried corn cobs as paint rollers. The texture creates interesting patterns.
Materials: Dried corn cobs, paint, paper
19. Scarecrow Craft
Create scarecrows from paper bags, paper plates, or traced body outlines. Add yarn hair and fabric clothes.
Materials: Paper bags or plates, yarn, fabric scraps, markers
20. Vegetable Stamping
Beyond apples—try celery bases (rose shapes), pepper halves, mushrooms, and potatoes.
Materials: Various vegetables, paint, paper
21. Paper Plate Pie
Color a paper plate brown (crust). Add another plate on top with a wedge cut out, showing "filling" underneath.
Materials: Paper plates, crayons or paint Variation: Make pumpkin, apple, or pecan pie
22. Harvest Counting Book
Create pages with different quantities: 1 pumpkin, 2 apples, 3 leaves, etc. Children illustrate each page.
Materials: Paper, crayons Learning connection: Number concepts
Animal Crafts
Fall features migrating birds, hibernating animals, and owl season.
23. Pinecone Owls
Glue googly eyes and a felt beak onto pinecones. Add felt wings if desired.
Materials: Pinecones, googly eyes, felt, glue
24. Paper Bag Owl
Stuff a paper bag, fold the top corners down to form ear tufts, add paper eyes and beak.
Materials: Paper bags, newspaper for stuffing, paper for features
25. Handprint Crow
Paint hands black, press overlapping to create a crow body. Add orange beak and legs.
Materials: Black and orange paint, paper
26. Hedgehog with Fork Prints
Draw a hedgehog body. Use a fork dipped in brown paint to create spiky fur.
Materials: Paper, fork, brown paint, crayons for body
27. Squirrel and Acorn
Create squirrels from paper shapes. Add real acorns or paper acorns for the squirrel to "hold."
Materials: Paper, scissors, glue, acorns (real or paper)
Sensory and Process Art
Fall-themed sensory experiences.
28. Cinnamon Applesauce Ornaments
Mix applesauce with cinnamon until it forms dough. Roll, cut shapes, poke holes, and let dry for fragrant ornaments.
Materials: Applesauce, cinnamon, cookie cutters, straw (for hole) Note: Takes several days to dry completely
29. Fall Sensory Collage
Glue fall textures onto paper—rough bark, smooth acorns, crinkly leaves, soft feathers, bumpy pinecones.
Materials: Various natural fall materials, sturdy paper, strong glue
30. Marbled Fall Leaves
Drip fall-colored paint onto shaving cream, swirl, press paper onto surface, then scrape off cream to reveal marbled pattern. Cut into leaf shapes.
Materials: Shaving cream, fall-colored paint, paper, scraper
Setting Up for Success
Collecting Natural Materials
Take nature walks specifically to collect craft supplies:
- Leaves (before they dry out completely)
- Acorns and other nuts
- Pinecones
- Sticks and bark
- Seed pods
Store in labeled containers. Some materials (like pinecones) can be baked at low temperature to remove bugs.
Material Preparation
Front-load prep work to make crafts run smoothly:
| Task | When to Prep |
|---|---|
| Cut paper shapes | Day before |
| Gather materials | Week ahead |
| Test new projects | Before introducing |
| Set up paint stations | During nap time |
Documentation
Fall crafts are photogenic. Capture:
- The process (not just product)
- Children's explanations of their work
- Group projects in progress
- Nature collection activities
Display Ideas
Celebrate autumn art:
- Classroom "tree" with children's leaf art
- Fall garlands made from connected projects
- Window displays for light-catching art
- Family gifts from durable projects
Adapting for Different Ages
| Age | Adaptations |
|---|---|
| Toddlers | More process art, less cutting, larger materials |
| Young 3s | Pre-cut shapes available, simple steps |
| Older 3s/4s | Introduce cutting, multi-step projects |
| Pre-K/5s | More independence, complex projects, planning |
Want to share fall crafts with families? Bloomily makes it easy to photograph artwork and include it in daily reports—parents see their child's creativity the same day. See how it works or start your free trial.
Related Articles
How to Add a Summer Camp Program to Your Daycare (Complete Guide)
Your preschool already has the space, staff, and families. Here's how to launch a profitable summer camp without starting from scratch.
Childcare Billing Software: The Complete Guide for 2026
Stop bleeding time and money on manual billing. Learn how to choose the right childcare billing software and automate tuition collection.
50 Preschool Activity Ideas for Every Season
50 engaging preschool activities organized by season. Fresh, educational ideas for teachers and daycare providers that children love.
Stay up to date
Get practical childcare management tips delivered to your inbox.
Ready to simplify your operations?
See how Bloomily can help your center save hours every week on admin tasks.