Fall Crafts Inspired By Nature

The weather is changing, the leaves are falling, and it’s the perfect time to go exploring in nature! Fall is a wonderful season to take your children on walks and foster their love of the outdoors. This is also a great time to do some adorable art projects with your little ones - so be sure to check out our list of nature-inspired crafts to do with your kids!

This adorable craft can be done even with newborns! There’s nothing cuter than creating keepsake art pieces using your baby’s tiny handprint or footprint, and all you need for this project is some brown paint, brown construction paper, and your little one’s hand. Simply paint your child’s hand using brown paint, stamp it a few times on a white piece of paper, and then complete the acorn by cutting out a cap from brown construction paper. If you have an older toddler or school-aged child, they can also paint the cap part of the acorn as well. 

Sunflower fields are in full bloom this time of year, and your little one can create her own sunflower at home using some paint, a paper plate, and sunflower seeds! Help your child paint the paper plate using yellow paint, and then once the paint is dry, cut the outer edges into petals. Have your child paint another paper plate green to use for the stem and leaves (you can also use green cardstock or construction paper). Once the flower is assembled, help your little one use craft glue to adhere sunflower seeds to the center of the flower. Your child will love creating one of these golden beauties! 

Going on family walks is a fun activity to do in the fall when the air is often crisp and cool in the early mornings and late evenings. During one of these walks, either you or your child can collect fallen leaves - and the more colorful, the better! When you get home, help your child glue 3-4 leaves to a piece of paper, and let his imagination soar as he creates animals from the leaves! You’ll need some plastic googly eyes (available at most craft stores) and a marker to draw legs or other parts of the body. Some simple animals to make out of leaves are hedgehogs, foxes, or turkeys - but your child is welcome to create anything his little mind imagines! 

Apples are in season during the fall months, and if you find yourself with a few extras that are going bad, you might want to use them for a fun art project. Simply cut an apple in half, grab some orange paint, and have your child use the apple as a giant stamp to create pumpkin shapes all over a piece of paper! When the paint dries, help your child create faces on the pumpkins using markers, black paint, or plastic googly eyes. You can also help your child draw a stem and leaves at the top of each pumpkin to add more detail. Your little one can make the pumpkins as sweet - or as spooky - as she desires! 

This project is great for practicing those fine-motor skills. You’ll need some fall-colored paints (orange, brown, yellow, green, etc) and a few Q-tips. Squeeze a little of each paint color onto a tray or paper plate, and stick a Q-tip in each color. Draw a tree trunk on a piece of paper, and let your little one use the Q-tip as a paint brush to create colorful spots of leaves all over the tree. This is a great time to talk about seasons, why leaves change colors, and what trees look like in the fall. Gripping the Q-tip and using it to paint the tree can help your child practice fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. 

This craft is similar to the Q-tip fall tree painting, but this one can be done with even younger babies! All you’ll need is some paint and a piece of white construction paper. Start by painting a brown tree trunk (or help your child paint a tree trunk), and then paint your child’s hand in a few different hues of red, orange, or yellow, and press your child’s hand onto the paper. Repeat several times, and soon you’ll have a beautiful fall tree with “leaves” made out of your child’s adorable little handprint! 

Gather some fresh leaves from outside, and tape them onto a piece of paper. Then, have your child paint around (and over!) the leaves. It’s ok to get some paint on the leaves themselves. Make sure there’s paint all around the edges of the leaves. When the paint is dry, carefully remove the leaves from the paper, leaving the crisp white leaf shapes on the page! 

This project is all about the things you can find just by going outside! Help your child collect some twigs, leaves, acorns, and small rocks, and then assist your child in designing people out of the items you collected! For example, you can use a round leaf for the head, some twigs for the body, and the acorns or rocks for the eyes and mouth. It will be best to use craft glue or hot glue for this project. You can even help your child design a person for each member of your family - pets included! 

Even though our holiday celebrations might look a lot different this year, there are still plenty of ways families can create wonderful moments together this fall. Gather your kids and try some of these fun nature-inspired craft ideas this week!

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