🍁 5 Easy & Educational Fall Crafts for Preschoolers
Hands-On Autumn Activities + Favorite Seasonal Picture Books
Fall is one of the best seasons for hands-on learning and cozy family time, especially for preschoolers. As the weather cools and leaves turn golden, it’s the perfect opportunity to blend early childhood development with seasonal crafts and picture books your children will love.
If you're looking for fun and educational fall crafts for preschoolers, this post includes simple projects that support fine motor skills, creativity, and sensory learning—plus, a curated book list to bring the season to life.
🍂 Why Fall Crafts Are Important for Preschool Learning
Preschoolers thrive when they can touch, explore, and experiment. Fall-themed crafts help young children connect with nature while developing:
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Fine motor coordination
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Language and literacy skills
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Creativity and emotional expression
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Seasonal awareness and observation
Pairing each activity with a related fall picture book creates a richer, more meaningful learning experience.
🍁 5 Fall Crafts and Picture Books for Preschoolers
1. Leaf Animals
Gather different shaped leaves. Glue them into animal shapes.
Skills: Fine motor control, texture exploration
Pair with: If You Find a Leaf by Aimée Sicuro
2. Leaf Rubbings
Place a real leaf under a sheet of paper. Have your child gently rub a crayon over the top to reveal the leaf’s texture and shape.
Skills: Fine motor control, texture exploration
Pair with: In the Middle of Fall by Kevin Henkes
3. Seed Art
Gather an assortment of seeds collected from harvested pumpkins, melons, or even use seeds such as quinoa and chia. Let your glue them onto paper to create shapes like pumpkins, leaves, or acorns.
Skills: Fine motor development, shape recognition
Pair with: How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin? by Margaret McNamara
4. Scarecrow Faces
Use paper plates as a base for scarecrow faces. Add yarn for hair, construction paper for hats, and markers to draw expressions.
Skills: Creativity, facial recognition, cutting and gluing
Pair with: The Scarecrow by Beth Ferry
5. Fall Tree Handprints
Paint your child’s hand to make the tree trunk, and let them use their fingertips to stamp red, orange, and yellow “leaves” on paper.
Skills: Color recognition, sensory exploration
Pair with: We’re Going on a Leaf Hunt by Steve Metzger
🍎 Extend the Learning with a Year-Round Nature Study
Looking for more nature-inspired activities for every all ages?
Check out our Nature Book Flood, a year-long homeschool resource with 52 weekly nature prompts. Each week includes:
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A rich, engaging nature story
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A hands-on project or craft
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A game or activity to play
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A sensory or observation prompt
📥 Download a free sample week here and start adding seasonal joy to your homeschool rhythm today with our nature based homeschool curriculum.
🍁 Focus on Fall with your Preschoolers with our New Peaceful Preschool Volume 2
Our newest early years resource includes 26 weeks of seasonal lessons perfect for a nature-based homeschool preschool.
Each week includes:
A nature story available on Youtube
A phonics and counting lesson
Fine and large motor skills
Art and practical life skills
Download a free sample week here and add more seasonal beauty to life with littles in your home.
The books are linked to our Amazon affiliate shop. Thanks for supporting our site!