Brilliant Autumn Activities for Children

7+ Hands-On Ideas for Seasonal Learning, Science, and Fun

Brisk walks, golden leaves, pumpkins, and cosy projects—autumn is the perfect season for families and teachers to get outdoors, create memories, and learn through the senses. With a little imagination and a handful of supplies, every day can become an exploration of nature, science, and creativity. Try these expanded autumn activities—plus top resources from Hands-On Education and BBC Bitesize—for your classroom or home.

1. Make a Lantern: Light and Colour Experiment

Create magical autumn lanterns using glass jars, coloured tissue paper, and imagination.

• Tear or cut tissue paper in reds, oranges, yellows, and browns. Paste onto jars using glue (try a PVA/water mix).
• Add leaves for extra texture and nature connection.
• Pop in a tealight and note how colours and leaf outlines glow.

This art-science crossover offers a window into light, colour, and materials. Connect with Hands-On Education’s Light and Shadows pack for more inspiring activities.

2. My Senses in Autumn: Mindful Nature Walks

Autumn is a brilliant time to immerse children in sensory learning outdoors:

• Take a clipboard and the free “My Senses in Nature” printable from Hands-On Education.
• Record what you see: changing leaves, mushrooms, bare branches.
• Listen for crispy leaves, birds, wind, or rainfall.
• Smell earthy soil, damp moss, or autumn air.
• Touch chilly air or rub smooth conkers and rough bark.

Use these prompts to start nature journaling or mini art projects back indoors.

3. Clay Pumpkins and Seed Art: Seasonal Sculpture

Pumpkin inspiration shouldn’t stop at carving!

• Examine different squash shapes—then make pumpkin sculptures with clay, plasticine, or salt dough.
• Paint sculptures orange and green, mixing in browns and yellows for realism.
• Older children can add ridges and stems for fine-motor skills.

Extend the activity by exploring pumpkin seeds: dry, glue, or thread them for natural art and math! Try Hands-On Education’s Cooking and Investigating with Pumpkins for even more ideas.

4. Weather Watching: Measuring Precipitation and Wind Direction

Autumn’s changing weather makes it ideal for STEM investigations.

• Make a simple rain gauge with a plastic bottle, cut and marked in millimetres—record rainfall daily.
• Build a wind sock from card, string, and a stick; use a compass to track wind direction and graph results.
• Compare findings with online weather apps.

Log and discuss your results using Hands-On Education’s Weather topic.

5. Cosy Soup and Homemade Applesauce: Seasonal Kitchen Science

Cooking with children brings autumn indoors:

• Invite children to help select, peel, chop, and stir vegetables—carrots, pumpkins, squash, root veg, and onions.
• Talk through safety, hygiene, and where the food grows.
• Try blending up apple sauce or autumn smoothies as a tasting investigation.

Explore the topic further with Hands-On Education’s Cooking with Pumpkins and Seasons for seasonal foods inspiration.

6. Leaf Art and Autumn Collage

Never underestimate the power of colourful leaves collected on a walk:

• Press leaves between heavy books, then create collages, animals, or “stained glass” windows with glue and card.
• Trace around leaf shapes, or make leaf rubbings with crayons.
• Make a mobile or window garland using string and dried leaves.

Connect with Autumn Leaf Activities and Nature Journal printables.

7. Seasonal Storytelling and Imaginative Play

Encourage children to invent autumn tales involving migrating birds, falling leaves, pumpkin adventures, or weather magic.

• Use props collected outdoors as story starters.
• Write and illustrate tales, perform shadow puppet shows, or act out stories for family and friends.

See Tell Me a Story for literacy extension.

8. BBC Autumn Resources for Classroom or Home

Check out BBC Bitesize’s KS2 Autumn Ac tivities for videos, quizzes, art ideas, and outdoor science investigates.