Autumn’s arrived – there are acorns and conkers falling, crunchy leaves underfoot and migrating birds flying overhead… and lots of learning opportunities for your child, says Specialist Speech and Language Therapist Alys Mathers.
“The changing colours and textures of autumn give you plenty to talk about with your child and easy opportunities for hands-on learning.”
Let's go through some fun family-friendly autumn activities that you can do with your kids at home or further afield.
Autumn outdoor activities
1. Enjoy an autumnal walk around the park
Parks and gardens offer all sorts of sensory fun in autumn.
The weather’s changing but it doesn’t mean that you have to take your autumn activities inside.
And you don’t have to go far to experience the natural wonders of autumn; your nearest park is full of inspiration for children of all ages.
To make the most of this autumn adventure, while you’re out walking with your little one, see what captures their attention and pause to look, listen and chat. Use descriptive words: chat about the different sounds that things make like the ‘snap’ of twigs, the ‘crunch’ of leaves and ‘splash’ of puddles. Encourage your child to copy these sounds, recommends Alys. “Little children can find copying noises like 'woof' a stepping stone to learning words like ‘dog’.”
Talking about animals is a great way to introduce new words. Chat about what they look like, what they do and where they live. “Act out lots of different action words like ‘hide’ and ‘swoop’ with your child and talk about those words. Link new words together, for example, ‘a squirrel lives in a tree’ or ‘a hedgehog has prickly spikes’,” recommends Alys. “You could pretend to be autumn animals. So, you could fly like a bird, scuttle like a hedgehog or hide like a squirrel.”
2. Pick some autumnal treasure - perfect for preschoolers
This is the perfect autumn activity to do at home on those rainy, cold days!
“Hide something simple like a conker or a toy under leaves for your child to find – you can do this at home or in the park. This gives them the chance to get hands-on with leaves and to describe what the ‘treasure’ looks and feels like, for example, that conkers are ‘smooth and shiny’,” explains Alys.
And if your child is slightly older, try trickier challenges using textures. “For example, ask them to find something ‘shiny’ like a conker or ‘rough’ like a pine cone or shell.”
3. Try pumpkin carving or decorating
Carving pumpkins is a great sensory activity for little ones. While we recommend that adults do the carving, children can have lots of fun pulling out all the 'guts' of the pumpkin.
If carving isn't your thing, painting pumpkins is a fun autumn activity for preschool children. Pick some of their favourite colours and get creative! As you're painting, as your little one what they are doing. If you really want to get into the Halloween spirit, we recommend painting in orange, black, and purple!
4. Creative crafty ideas
Items like pumpkins and pine cones can easily be turned into characters.
Arty activities are an amazing opportunity to spark your child’s imagination, explore their senses and learn new words. And there are so many creative ways to use autumnal items from your garden or park, like different coloured leaves, conkers, acorns, twigs and moss.
“Throughout these activities, talk to them about what everything looks and feels like – and encourage them to make up creative stories,” says Alys.
Try making autumn collages, crayon leaf rubbings, mini plate gardens and leaf animals like foxes and birds.
Or a great one for older children is use clean pine cones to create hedgehogs.
And you could make an easy autumn mobile using a stick and hang things off it like conkers and leaves.
Now, you might be thinking 'what other activities can you do in the autumn at home?' well, here are some ideas…
Indoor activities for autumn
1. Spooky peek-a-boo
Tis the season to be spooky, so how about a ghostly game of peek-a-boo for baby? “Put a sheet or towel over your head and as you pull it off, say ‘boo!’. It’s lots of fun and a really good way for encouraging eye contact between you and your baby,” explains Alys. “You could try draping something over their head too and encourage them to pull it off, so that baby is initiating the game. This is great for very early communication.”
Continuing the animal theme, try a seasonal version of Sleeping Lions to develop your child's attention skills and can help them wind down towards the end of the day. “Play hibernating autumn animals and get the whole family involved,” says Alys.
2. Try different seasonal foods
Autumn is also a brilliant time for children to explore the shapes and colours of interesting foods like pumpkin and squash.
And if it's safe to do so, try giving them a little of each food while you’re cooking so they can explore the way they feel and taste. As you're trying the different foods, ask your little one to describe them. Are they tasty or yucky? Remember, it's good to express a distaste for something, just as it is to like something!
If you need some food inspiration, why not try our tasty pumpkin pancake recipe?
When trying any of these activities, make sure your child is supervised at all times and watch out for anything going in mouths that could be a choking hazard.
3. Fancy dress fun
Kids love getting dressed up! Why not make the most of it this autumn and make your own fancy dress outfits?
It's time to raid your wardrobes and encourage your child to pick out an outfit – and don’t forget to model language as well as your clothes. Give your child lots of examples of descriptive words in full sentences to show them how the words are used.
Together with your little one you can encourage them to put together their autumnal outfit and, as they pick out their favourite items, encourage them to describe each item of clothing. For example, 'Do you like this stripey, black and white jumper?' or 'What about this fluffy, black hat?'
If you want to get extra creative, you can use your little one's old clothes and let them go wild adding colours, writing, glitter, or even attach some autumn leaves or flowers from the garden!
If you're touching plants, please be aware that some are potentially harmful. Check out this helpful list from the RHS.
Whether you decide to explore the local park or get craft at home, autumn is the perfect time of the year for sensory play, dress up fun and trying new foods. If you'd like some more inspiration this autumn, check out our free printable autumn activity schedule. Which one's your favourite?
