Mums & Tots: Autumn ideas for early years

Autumn is most definitely my favourite time of year. There are so many gorgeous colours around and with crunchy leaves beneath your feet, it is just magical. Children love autumn too, with conker picking and welly wearing, it is lots of fun for all ages. So I’ve compiled some fun crafts, activities and autumn ideas for early years.

Throw on a coat, a pair of old wellies and jump in!  

Autumn recipes to do with young children

These biscuits from 3 Little Ladies and Me look delicious! Mine have all been involved in baking since they were one, so these are perfect! 

I love blackberry picking and 3 Princesses and 1 Dude has a brilliant kid-friendly recipe to use them all up! 

Autumn leaf crafts

Children love picking leaves and what better way to use them than to make cute foxes! Quite Frankly She Said has a great post about showing you how to make them.  

Another leafy idea from Let Them Be Small – making hedgehogs. Such fun! 

If they love painting, then painting leaves is such a simple idea here from Mummy’s Magical Mayhem. 

Get more autumn left craft ideas with this list including leaf wreaths, foxes, owls and even fairy wings!

Halloween craft ideas

1. Monster Stones – This idea from The Inspiration Edit is great for all year round, but her monster stones are a great way to tie in with Halloween. 
2. Edible Halloween sensory bin + bottles – She also has a how-to for fantastic sensory bottles, perfect for inquisitive little ones. As well as an edible Halloween sensory bin – I love it! 
3. Pumpkin prints using potatoes – Rock and Roll Pussycat has a brilliant toddler craft using potatoes to make pumpkin prints – mine love paint so this will always be a winner! 
4. A Halloween craft book – For more autumn/ Halloween crafts, The Mum Diaries has a great review of a craft book for you. I love having books like this to hand, always handy to grab an idea for a rainy day. 

These conker snails from The Joy of Five are now on my to-do list. What a fab way to use your autumn treasures! 

She also has a brilliant fireworks picture idea – I have never seen this method but will be using it from now on! 

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If you are feeling a little overwhelmed, Nicola Says has made a very handy printable with 20 things to do this autumn, if you want to go print it out.

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Isn’t autumn just brilliant for keeping kids entertained? You may think that colder weather means more time indoors but as my granny always said…

“There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing”

So get outdoors, pick those leaves, berries, conkers and pumpkins and see what fun you can have! 

Next month I will be looking ahead to Christmas, so if you have any Christmas recipes, traditions or days out to share then email me katy@whatkatysaid.com.