Five Autumn Activities

Get creative indoors our outside with these hands-on ideas!

Make A Lantern

As the days get a little darker it is the perfect time to make a lantern and experiment with light and colour. For this creative activity you will need a glass jar and some coloured tissue paper. Invite your child to tear pieces of coloured tissue paper and glue them onto the jar, covering the whole surface. Place a small tealight inside the jar and watch it glow. Notice that the different coloured tissue paper creates different effects as the light shines through lighter colours more than the darker colours. For our lanterns we used autumnal colours such as red, orange, yellow and brown. The light shone through the yellow and orange tissue paper is really calming.

We also experimented with gluing leaves on the side of a jar to see how the light would shine through. Choosing the different coloured leaves was fun and the challenge of getting our leaves to stick really amused Harry.

For more activities using leaves please read our Autumn Leaf Activities blog.

My Senses In Autumn

Experiencing autumn through the senses is a great way to engage with this beautiful and colourful season. Each sense offers a unique insight to enhance our appreciation of this time of year. Our free My Senses in Nature Activity supports children in activating their senses whilst exploring outside. The activity provides activity sheets for children to record what they see, hear, smell and feel. Take this along with you on a clipboard – because a clipboard seems to make every activity more exciting – and encourage your child to take a moment to be still, focusing on their different senses.

Sight – the vibrant colours of the changing leaves are always visually stimulating. I love it when the sunlight streams through the trees as it creates a magical atmosphere.

Hearing – when you take a moment to be still whilst in nature you may be surprised at the number of sounds you can hear. The crunching of leaves, the wind rustling through branches, the pattering of rain. My favourite is always the birds. Although many birds migrate for the winter there are still many left behind and we love hearing them chirp away.

Smell – there are certain smells distinct to the autumn season too. In nature there can be a fresh smell in the air, particularly after it rains. Also try to notice the earthy smell of wet soil. We often associate autumn smells to the food we eat, particularly spices like cinnamon and nutmeg.

Touch – this is a really interesting sense for children to explore on a crisp autumn morning. When our boys were younger, they would love going into the woods to physically touch crunchy leaves or jump around in wet mud. Try encouraging your children to notice a cold chill in the air and the contrast of the warm sun on their face.

Taste – of course it is important to explain to children that they should not eat things they find in nature and this sense may be saved for the comforts of your home. There may be foods you eat which specifically remind you of autumn. This is a great time of year for enjoying apples, and root vegetables. For us this is the only time of year we make pumpkin soup.

Clay Pumpkin Decorations

Pumpkins can only be found in England in autumn so the opportunity to learn about this large beautiful vegetable shouldn’t be missed. Our pumpkin activities encourage children to experiment and explore with pumpkins in a number of ways including printing with the pumpkin top, drawing a pumpkin, discovering if a pumpkin will sink or float and cooking with a pumpkin.

We thought we had done everything we could with pumpkins! Then this autumn we used clay to make our own decorative pumpkin sculptures. Harry in particular enjoys sculpting with clay but often doesn’t know what to make. Using a pumpkin as our inspiration worked really well. As the boys are a little older now this wasn’t about just making a ball shape and plonking a stem on top, but encouraging them to observe a real pumpkin, consider its shape and the textured details. Once the clay was dry, they painted their sculptures orange and green.

Measure Precipitation And Wind Direction

As the weather changes this is a great time of year to investigate different elements of the weather. Measuring precipitation is a great activity to support children in developing STEM skills as they make their own precipitation gage, measure and record the results, and observe any patterns they notice.

Another great activity within our weather topic is measuring wind direction. Again, this activity promotes the development of STEM skills as children make their own wind sock, take it outside and use a compass to identify which direction the wind is blowing. They can record their results over the course of a week in a graph and observe any patterns they notice.

Let’s Make Soups And Homemade Applesauce

For those that want to stay cosy and warm inside, why not try some seasonal cooking with your child. Encourage your child to participate safely by providing age-appropriate tasks and ensuring they are ready before introducing them to different equipment. You will know what your child is able to do whilst staying safe in the kitchen. Tasks might include peeling, weighing ingredients, mixing and serving.

In our house this is the season for warm soup and as I am a rather lazy cook, I love the fact that you really can’t go wrong with soup. The boys often choose which vegetables to add, they peel carrots, tear peppers apart and crumble the stock cube. I always start with some fried onion in the pot and then add the chosen vegetables. Once they’ve all fried a bit, I cover everything with water and add the stock cube. I leave it to simmer until everything is soft then use a hand blender to make it smooth.

Another family favourite is to make applesauce. I usually make a batch of this by myself and the boy’s experiment with how they use it. They add it to their porridge, alongside natural yoghurt or more recently they made an applesauce and banana smoothie.

Find some our great autumn activity ideas for your family or classroom below!

Key Stage One Seasons	Key Stage One Pumpkins	Key Stage Two Seasonal Cooking	Hands-On Education's Weather