Preschool Fall Activities: 38 Hands-On Ideas for Apple, Leaf, and Pumpkin Season.
Fall is such a magical season for preschoolers (and teachers!) With colorful leaves, crisp air, pumpkins, and apples all around, it’s the perfect time to bring seasonal fun into your classroom or home.
This collection of preschool fall activities covers the whole season from September through November, and I’ve organized everything by theme so you can go straight to what you need. Whether you’re planning a week of apple activities, building out a pumpkin unit, or just looking for a fresh sensory bin to set out on Monday morning, this roundup has you covered.
You’ll find hands-on activities, crafts, process art, sensory play, science experiments, songs, literacy activities, math printables, and free resources across six seasonal themes. Everything links directly to the full Teaching Mama post with instructions, free printables, and step-by-step photos.
General Preschool Fall Activities and Printables
These resources celebrate fall broadly. They’re not tied to a single theme like apples or pumpkins, but they’re perfect for setting the seasonal tone throughout your classroom or home all season long.
Activities and Sensory Play
10 Autumn Songs for Preschoolers
This collection includes songs about apples, pumpkins, scarecrows, and the changing season, most set to familiar tunes so kids can pick them up quickly with just a little repetition. A free PDF download of all ten songs is available, which makes it easy to print and keep handy in your classroom. Seasonal songs are one of my favorite low-prep ways to build vocabulary and phonological awareness at the same time.
A two-page printable that gets kids outside looking, smelling, and listening for signs of fall. One page focuses on visual exploration (leaves, acorns, pinecones, twigs), while the other is about smell and sound. It’s a wonderful way to combine a neighborhood walk with early science observation skills, and children love the satisfaction of checking things off a list. Free to download.
This sensory bin uses popcorn kernels as a base with mini hay bales, autumn leaves, a small scarecrow, a squirrel figurine, and pumpkins tucked in for discovery. Kids can scoop, pour, sort, count, and play freely. In my experience, this kind of bin stays engaging across multiple sessions: set it out, store it, bring it back out, and it still holds their attention.
A simple slime made from clear glue, water, and liquid starch with fall-colored glitter mixed in for a seasonal touch. The result is stretchy and satisfying to handle. It makes a good calming sensory center or a fun Friday afternoon activity, and it’s easy to make in batches and store in zip-lock bags for repeated use.
Filled with glycerin, water, and fall-colored glitter, these DIY bottles let kids shake and watch the glitter drift slowly down like falling leaves. They’re quick to make and last a long time. Great for a calm-down corner or as a visual focus during group time, and there’s no mess involved once the bottle is sealed.
Kids glue a paper tree trunk to cardstock and then sponge-paint the foliage in fall colors, layering red, orange, yellow, and green to create depth and texture. The round sponge brushes give a naturally leafy effect that’s very forgiving for little hands. A whole-class display of these looks stunning, and it’s very manageable to run as a group activity.
Fall Q-Tip Painting Printables
A set of 22 fall-themed images (owls, acorns, pumpkins, scarecrows, and more) that children fill in by dabbing paint with Q-tips. It’s a deceptively simple activity that builds real hand strength and fine motor control, exactly the small muscle work that supports pencil grip later on. The free printable set has enough variety to spread across the whole season.
Fall Printables
Ten fall design templates (scarecrow, owl, apple, turkey, and more) for use with standard classroom pattern block sets. There’s a colored version for matching shapes and a black-and-white version for children who are ready to work more independently. Each template includes a space for recording which shapes were used, adding a counting component. A solid math center activity for preschool through early elementary.
This free printable gives preschoolers practice sorting fall picture cards by size (small, medium, large) and by color. The packet includes sorting mats and picture cards to cut out. Sorting is such a foundational math skill, and this makes it easy to drop into a fall math center or use for quick one-on-one practice.
Fall Math Packet for Preschoolers
A 33-page fall-themed math packet covering number recognition, counting, comparing, number writing, one-to-one correspondence, five frames, ten frames, and more. The pages use autumn imagery throughout and include dot-marker and tracing activities to keep it hands-on. This packet has enough variety to support a full month of preschool math centers.
Kids print this puzzle, cut the pieces apart, mount them on craft sticks, and then arrange them in alphabetical order. It combines fine motor work with alphabet sequencing in a hands-on way, and the fall images on each piece give you natural conversation starters along the way. A free PDF download is included.
Apple Activities
Apple activities are such a natural fit for September and early October. Here’s a mix of ways to explore them across art, sensory play, science, and literacy.
A real apple cut in half becomes the stamp, revealing that beautiful star-shaped seed pattern in the center. Kids dip the apple in washable paint and press it onto cardstock to create prints. It’s a classic process art activity that also introduces simple science concepts, and kids are always delighted by what they find inside when you make the first cut together.
A collection of apple-themed learning activities built around the letter A, including an alligator craft using the letter’s shape, dot marker printables, a color-sorting activity, an apple graphing exercise, and a gross motor game where kids walk a balance tape to “pick” apples from a tree. A good choice for a letter A unit or a week of apple-focused learning for preschoolers.
Apple Sensory Bin with Free Printable
This bin uses dry oatmeal as the base, with plastic apples and buried acorns for children to dig, scoop, and discover. The highlight is the free printable apple pattern cards: kids use tweezers to place apples on the correct color card in the sequence. It’s a nice combination of sensory exploration, fine motor practice, and color patterning all in one activity.
Cloud dough made with flour, vegetable oil, and spiced apple cider mix. It smells wonderful and holds together just enough to shape before crumbling apart. All ingredients are edible, which makes it safe for younger preschoolers who may still put things in their mouths. It stores in a zip-lock bag and can be brought out again throughout the season.
This one takes some advance prep, but it’s always a hit. Children make cotton ball “apples,” bake them until hardened, and glue them onto a paper tree. Then everyone heads outside with real hammers to smash them. It builds gross motor strength and hand-eye coordination, and the cause-and-effect experience of smashing something you made yourself is genuinely exciting for preschoolers.
Apple Volcanoes Easy Science Experiment
A baking soda and vinegar reaction done inside a hollowed-out apple rather than a standard container, which makes it feel seasonal and special. Simple setup, big visual payoff with lots of fizzing and bubbling, and it’s a natural introduction to cause-and-effect and basic chemistry concepts for preschoolers and kindergarteners.
How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World Book Activity
Paired with the picture book How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World by Marjorie Priceman, this activity has kids using printable picture cards to track where each ingredient comes from on a world map as you read aloud together. There’s also a free apple tree art printable, and the book’s recipe is actually usable if you want to bake a simple apple pie with your class or family. A great multi-subject activity weaving together literacy, geography, and cooking.
Apple Printables for Preschoolers
A free five-activity packet of apple-themed fine motor printables: torn paper, cutting practice, dot markers, coloring, and painting, all built around a simple apple outline. It gives kids multiple opportunities to practice fine motor skills within the same seasonal theme. Works well as a packet to send home or use across several days in a center.
Leaf Activities
There’s something about leaves that preschoolers are naturally drawn to: collecting them, crunching them, sorting them by color and size. These activities lean into that curiosity.
Inspired by the book Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert, this is a two-part activity: a leaf-collection walk followed by a creative project where kids arrange and glue their collected leaves onto paper to make leaf figures. A free printable template is available for children who want a starting point, but the open-ended nature of the activity is the real appeal. Every leaf man turns out completely different.
8 Leaf Activities for Preschoolers
A collection of hands-on leaf activities including leaf rubbings with a watercolor wash over top, sticky leaf trees on contact paper, a leaf sensory bin, leaf suncatchers, a leaf memory matching game, a sorting and movement game, hole-punch leaf confetti, and laminated leaf projects. Most activities use natural or simple craft materials. A great resource for pulling individual ideas throughout a leaf unit.
Kids squeeze yellow and red paint into a sealed plastic bag, then use their fingers to mix the colors and watch orange emerge. It’s a completely mess-free way to explore color mixing, with all the tactile satisfaction of squishing paint through a bag. A maple leaf template is included to tape behind the bag so kids can see the leaf shape filling with color as they work.
A free five-activity printable packet with a leaf maze, a 1-60 dot-to-dot, a color-by-number page, a leaf cutting activity, and a leaf puzzle. The activities span a range of difficulty levels, which makes the packet useful for differentiation within the same classroom. Good for a leaf study unit or as a general fall printable center.
Alphabet Sequencing Activity with Leaves
Leaf-shaped cards printed with letter pairs: children find the next letter in alphabetical order and match the cards together until the whole alphabet is sequenced. The free printable uses lowercase letters only. It works as an independent center, a partner activity, or a whole-group demonstration, and you can start with just a few cards for younger or struggling learners before adding more.
Pumpkin Activities
From process art to science experiments to literacy booklets, pumpkins are a surprisingly versatile theme for preschool learning.
Pumpkin Prints Process Art Activity
Orange paint goes into a cake pan, kids use cotton swabs to draw a jack-o-lantern face in the surface, and then they press cardstock onto the pan to make a transfer print. The results are beautifully unpredictable. No two prints look alike, which is exactly the point with process art. Add a green paper stem and you’ve got a seasonal display piece with very little prep.
A homemade puffy paint made from shaving cream, flour, and glue gets piped from a bag onto a free pumpkin template. When it dries, the surface is soft and three-dimensional. Kids can add pumpkin seeds, googly eyes, or a paper stem for extra creativity. The recipe makes enough for three projects, which is efficient for a small group.
Ten different pumpkin experiments in one place: sink or float, pumpkin volcanoes, pumpkin slime, measuring, dissolving pumpkins, growing pumpkin seeds, and more. A free printable packet with materials lists, step-by-step directions, and observation worksheets is included. You can pick one experiment for a single-day activity or work through several during a week-long pumpkin unit.
Five Little Pumpkins Free Rhyme Booklet
A free printable booklet based on the classic “Five Little Pumpkins” rhyme, available in a full-color version and a black-and-white version for children to color themselves. Teaching suggestions include fingerplay motions, echo reading, picture walks, and retelling with puppets or felt pieces. The booklet supports phonological awareness, counting, rhyme recognition, print awareness, and early reading fluency.
A free seven-page printable booklet with pumpkin-shaped pages that walks children through the stages of a pumpkin’s growth from seed to mature fruit. Available in a full-color version and a coloring-book version for children to fill in themselves. A natural companion to a pumpkin science unit, and a simple way to introduce life cycle concepts to preschoolers and kindergarteners.
Pumpkin Smash Alphabet Activity
Kids smash play dough onto pumpkin-themed cards, matching the beginning sound of a picture to the letter shown at the top. The free printable is designed to laminate and reuse, which makes it ideal for a literacy center. A particularly good fit for kinesthetic learners or children who benefit from keeping their hands moving while working on phonemic awareness.
A simple, low-prep craft where kids paint a paper plate orange, glue brown construction paper squares around the edges for crust, and add cotton balls as whipped cream. The result is a sweet display piece that looks festive with minimal setup. Pairs naturally with the apple pie book activity if you’re doing a fall baking or food theme.
Pumpkin Fluff Sensory Activity
This sensory activity combines pumpkin puree and shaving cream into a soft, fluffy mixture that smells like fall and is endlessly satisfying to squeeze and swirl. You can add small tools, molds, or paint canvases for extended exploration. Note: This activity uses shaving cream, so it works best for children who are past the mouthing stage. The texture and scent make it a standout sensory experience.
Halloween Activity
Just one resource here, but it is genuinely useful for weaving Halloween into literacy practice.
Two Halloween I-Spy sheets with seasonal images for children to find, count, and record. Kids note how many of each picture they found, then compare which appeared most and least often, adding a simple data component beyond just counting. Free to download and works well as an independent activity, a center, or a homework page.
Thanksgiving Activities
A couple of quick and meaningful Thanksgiving projects to keep in your back pocket for November.
Kids paint the top half of a paper plate using fall-colored sponge brushes and then assemble a turkey face from construction paper shapes and googly eyes. The sponge brush painting makes this accessible for younger preschoolers, and the multi-step assembly is a nice sequencing exercise. Step-by-step photo instructions make it easy to replicate in a classroom or at home.
A free printable for a handprint turkey keepsake. Kids paint their palm and fingers in turkey colors, stamp onto the template, and then add details with markers or googly eyes. The painting itself takes just a few minutes, which makes this an easy add-on to a busy November week, and it’s always a hit with families.
Ready to Get Started?
Fall is one of the best times of the year to create meaningful and memorable learning experiences with preschoolers. I hope you’ll try some (or all) of these activities!
If you love seasonal printables, you’ll find even more in the Teaching Mama Printables Club, a growing library of resources organized and ready to use all year long. Leave a comment and let me know which activity you’re trying first!
Happy learning!
Frequently Asked Questions
Most of the activities in this list are designed for children ages 3 to 5, though many work well for kindergarteners too. For younger preschoolers around age 2 to 3, focus on the sensory bins, process art, and simple crafts, which require less fine motor precision and more open-ended exploration.
The best approach is to swap one or two activities into your existing centers rather than adding extra time to your day. A fall sensory bin can replace your usual sand table, the alphabet sequencing cards can go in your literacy center, and a pattern block printable can rotate into your math center. Most of the activities here require 15 minutes or less of prep, and many can stay out across an entire week.
Both. Every activity in this list has been used in home settings and classroom settings. The sensory bins, crafts, and science experiments work especially well one-on-one or with a small group at home, and nearly all the printables can be downloaded and used with a single child. If you’re a homeschooling family or just looking for weekend activities, these translate naturally.
Yes, the majority of activities in this roundup include free printable downloads. You’ll find free printables with the scavenger hunt, the alphabet puzzle, the fall sorting activity, the math packets, the leaf activities packet, the pumpkin smash alphabet cards, the five little pumpkins booklet, the pumpkin life cycle booklet, and more. For even more seasonal printables organized and ready to use, the Teaching Mama Printables Club is worth a look.
A themed weekly structure works well: apple week in mid-September, a general fall week to introduce the season, leaf week in early October, pumpkin week leading into Halloween, and Thanksgiving projects in November. Within each theme, mix one sensory or art activity, one printable, and one science or movement activity across the week. That balance keeps the learning varied without requiring a different setup every day.
