Tag Archives: fall

Fall Tree Pom Pom Painting

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I love doing seasonal activities, especially in the fall. When I first saw the idea of doing a fall tree painting on Crafts on Sea’s blog, I loved it. They did several paintings using different items as paint brushes. I liked the pom pom idea the best, and so did Buddy. There is a printable tree template on the blog, but I ended up just creating my own.

*Disclaimer- this post contains affiliate links for your convenience. As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.*

During Buddy’s nap time, I got the painting materials set up. I used a marker to draw a tree trunk and branches on painting paper. Then I put washable paints on a paper plate, and put a pom pom on the end of a clothes pin. I also pulled out Buddy’s paint smock.

Buddy was so excited to start painting. He loved the idea of using a pom pom instead of a paint brush, and he was very careful with it. At first, Buddy put one dot of paint at the end of each branch. But eventually, he started adding more and more paint everywhere. 

After awhile, Buddy wanted more leaves on the paper. I suggested that he put some on the ground. However, Buddy thought it would be more fun to make them falling from the tree. So there are a lot of leaves everywhere on the paper. 

Here is Buddy’s final picture. 

Buddy had a lot of fun, and it was so easy to clean up! I threw away the paper plate, and the pom pom clothes pin, and we were done! Since we didn’t use a real paint brush, I didn’t have to clean it out at the end of our activity! We both loved this activity, and I know we’ll try pom pom painting again.

Going on a Leaf Hunt

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Last week we had a warm, sunny beautiful fall day. It was such a wonderful change from the cold and rainy weather that Buddy and I spent an hour and a half after school playing outside. We headed to the park, and after playing for a long time on the playground, we were looking for something else fun to do.

I’ve seen many fun fall scavenger hunts on Pinterest, and almost all of them had printable resources that can be used to guide the hunt. I had planned to do one of those hunts, but since we decided to do this activity spontaneously, I didn’t have anything printed. But it didn’t matter; we had a great time.

I asked Buddy if he wanted to go on a leaf hunt, and he loved the idea. I asked some general questions, and then we went looking for leaves. Here are my guiding questions (asked one at a time):

  • How many different colors of leaves can you find?
  • What is the largest leaf you can find?
  • What is the smallest leaf you can find?
  • How many different shapes of leaves can you find?
  • What other fun things can you find on the ground?

Buddy had a blast finding a bunch of different leaves! He found ones that were red, yellow, green, black, brown, and a light tan. We also found some different sizes of pinecones, an acorn, dandelions, and a couple fun sticks. While we were walking, we also saw some dogs, ducks, geese, and a squirrel. We made up a leaf hunt song that we sang as we walked around the park.

Once we were done, we took our findings home and spread them all out to analyze. We pointed out the biggest and smallest, discussed all of the colors of leaves, and picked favorites. Buddy wanted to bring everything inside, but he was content when I told him we’d have to leave them outside where they belong. 

Buddy had so much fun with this activity that he suggested another leaf hunt today. It was a lot colder than last week, but it was still nice enough to play outside. We stayed close to our house, but we were still able to find a lot of different leaves. Buddy put all of his favorites inside of his tricycle. 

I highly recommend doing a leaf hunt of your own this fall if you live in an area where the leaves changes. (And even if you don’t, a nature walk of any kind is a lot of fun.) We had a blast, and I know we’ll do it again soon.

Fun Fall Books For Preschoolers

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I love reading seasonal books with Buddy. Over the last couple years, I’ve been able to purchase or check out many fun fall books. I’m going to share our favorite fall books for preschoolers in case you’re looking for some new reading material.

*Disclaimer- this post contains affiliate links for your convenience. As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.*

Little Blue Truck’s Halloween

This is Buddy’s favorite Halloween book. It’s a board book with flaps to lift. Each flap is a masked animal and under the flap is the unmasked animal. It’s well written with rhyming stanzas. Buddy loves seeing all the animals and the costumes.

Peppa Goes Apple Picking

Buddy likes Peppa Pig, and he’s enjoyed every book we’ve read in the series. This one is special because we go apple picking every fall. I like having a fall book that isn’t Halloween based.

It’s Pumpkin Day, Mouse!

This is a book in the If You Give a Mouse a Cookie series. Buddy loves these books, and this Halloween one is no exception.

Halloween Jack

Buddy got this book as a gift last October, and it’s really fun! There are large googly eyes that are in different Halloween figures (witch, mummy, vampire, etc.) It is a silly and not scary book.

I Love You Little Pumpkin

This is another lift the flap book with Halloween costumes. It’s a cute book that Buddy liked when he was younger, and he still enjoys it now.

Duck and Goose Find a Pumpkin

Buddy has loved Duck and Goose books since he was one. This one is our favorite because it’s funny. Duck and Goose look for a pumpkin in strange places (“Is our pumpkin in the tree?” “No.”) and eventually they find what they’re looking for. It’s a simple story that’s a lot of fun.

Duck and Goose Honk! Quack! Boo!

This book is longer than Duck and Goose Find a Pumpkin and is best for kids ages 3 and up. It is also funny, and Buddy really enjoyed it. It made him very excited for dressing up for Halloween and going Trick or Treating.

Click Clack Boo

Buddy really likes the Click Clack Moo series, and this Halloween version is a lot of fun.

The Night Before Thanksgiving

This is a version of Twas the Night Before Christmas with a Thanksgiving spin. It’s a good way to get ready for the excitement and chaos of Thanksgiving with a large family.

Do you have any other favorite fall books? Please share your ideas in the comments.

Fall Tree Foil Painting

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I love to do activities related to the season. When I first saw this fall tree painting idea on Munchkins and Moms’ blog, I knew it would be a perfect fall activity. It has been awhile since Buddy and I have painted together, and I knew that we would both enjoy this project.

*Disclaimer- this post contains affiliate links for your convenience. As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.*

Buddy was so excited when I told him we’d be doing a fall tree painting. I showed him a picture of what the final painting would look like so he could understand what to do. Then, I put brown paint on one paper plate, and red, yellow, and orange paint on another paper plate. We always use Crayola washable paint because it is so easy to clean up. My favorite paper for painting is this paint pad, which never gets soggy.

I gave Buddy a brush to paint the tree trunk, and I helped him make the lines for the trunk and branches. 

Next, I rolled up a ball of foil, and Buddy dipped it into the red, yellow, and orange paint. Then he tapped it all over the page to make the leaves. He really wanted to make smeary lines, but I was able to convince him that tapping looked better. When the paint started mixing enough to look brown and gross, I got a new ball of foil to use.

While Buddy’s painting wasn’t perfect, I thought it was pretty good for a two-year old. He had a lot of fun, and he was  very proud of the final product. 

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Fall Sun Catchers

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I wanted to make sun catchers with Buddy this summer, but we never got around to it. A few weeks ago, it occurred to me that it would be really cute to make fall  sun catchers. However, our October has been crazy, and we just didn’t have time. This week, Buddy was sent home sick from school, which meant that we had extra time at home with nothing to do. So we finally got around to making  fall sun catchers.

While Buddy napped, I prepped the materials. I cut red, orange, and yellow tissue paper into small squares and put it in ziplock bags. Next, I used a crayon to draw a pumpkin and some leaves on black construction paper, and then I cut them out. Since it’s almost Halloween, I decided to make the pumpkin a jack-o-lantern. The shapes were put on top of a large rectangle of Contact paper. Then, I used painters tape to keep the edges of the Contact paper from curling up.

suncatcher-prep

Once Buddy woke up, I put him in his highchair without the tray. We started by just putting orange tissue paper on the pumpkin. Buddy was a little unsure at first, but he quickly decided that he liked putting the paper on the sticky surface. He started with a few squares at a time, but towards the end he was grabbing large handfuls of tissue paper and throwing it all over the paper. After the pumpkin was mostly covered, we moved on to the leaves. I had to thin out some of his tissue paper clumps, but the majority of the color was done by Buddy. Once we were done with the tissue paper, I put another layer of Contact paper on them and cut out the shapes.

pumpkin-suncatcher

Buddy had a great time with this activity. It was the perfect easy craft to break up a long sick day at home. I’m sure we will make sun catchers again. Our final products were nice enough that I plan to save them and put them up again next year!

finished-jack-o-lantern

final-product

If you have any other easy fall crafts, I’d love to hear about them. I’d like to try something Thanksgiving related in the next few weeks.

 

Fun Fall Outings for Young Kids

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Fall is my favorite time of year. I love the changing seasons and the many colors of fall. I’m lucky enough to live in the Midwest where there are plenty of orchards and pumpkin farms to visit this time of year. During the last month, our weekends have been completely packed with fall fun! Here is a recap of what fall outings have been the most fun for Buddy.

Apple Picking

picking-apples

We met up with some friends at an orchard and pumpkin farm at the end of September. Originally, I wasn’t planning to do apple picking with Buddy, but I’m so glad we did. He loved the train ride out to the orchard. (He’s very into tractors and trucks right now, so it was really fun to see a real tractor in action.) Buddy had so much fun helping us pull apples from trees! I didn’t think he would be able to eat a whole apple, but he actually ate an apple and a half! We had a blast.

Pumpkin Patch/Farm

goat-smile
We actually went to several different orchards/pumpkin patches with farm animals and family activities. Buddy absolutely loved seeing farm animals, and the farm we went to with a petting zoo was his favorite! He LOVES farm animals and has started to say names/sounds for different animals. He liked exploring pumpkins as well. The pumpkin farm we visited in mid October was very picked over, so if you plan to get a pumpkin, go early.

Fall Colors Hike

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Every year, Hubby and I take a fall colors road trip. Now that we have Buddy, we spend less time driving and hiking, but this is still an important fall activity for us. Buddy loved seeing all of the fall colors and playing with the leaves. He really enjoyed walking through the leaves as well. Buddy is too little to remember last fall, so everything is brand new to him. I tried to let him just sit in the grass and explore to his heart’s content.

Football Game

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I have to admit, football isn’t an important fall activity for me. However, it is very important to Hubby and Buddy too. We took Buddy to two basketball games last year, but this fall was his first football game. Buddy enjoyed watching the people around him and the band too. We did have to pull out some of our airplane toys (see blog post here) to keep him entertained by the end of the game. It was a fun thing for us to do as a family, and I’m sure we’ll do it again next year.

Local Fall/Halloween Celebrations

cubs-costume

The zoos near us have fall celebrations, and it’s a fun excuse to go see the animals. (Have I mentioned how much Buddy loves farm animals? Between the farms and the zoo, we saw farm animals four weekends in a row!) Our town just had a Halloween celebration, and we had a blast seeing police cars and fire trucks. Buddy met several of his friends there, so that made everything even more fun for him.

Are there any other fun fall outings you suggest for a little one? Our weekends are mostly open between now and Thanksgiving, and I’d love more ideas for fall fun.