Three At Home Fall Activities with a Toddler

Apple orchards, pumpkin picking, corn mazes and trick or treating. Fall is filled with fun things to do and fun places to go! Having a little kiddo around to do all of the fall favorites with is just that much sweeter. Although, sometimes these fall activities go much smoother in your head than they do when actually out and about. Toddlers have a schedule of their own as well as a hidden agenda. I don’t know about your little, but mine can go 0 to 1000 in the matter of minutes and that’s okay. Toddlers have big feelings in little bodies! If we’re taking Griff, we plan to have no real plans. So we go to these fall activities with very minimal expectations of how the trip should go. That way we have don’t have unrealistic expectations and Griff can enjoy based on how he feels. Remember just enjoy your family time at these outings and if things get missed, that’s okay! Try it next time.

With that being said, bringing some fall activities to our home base that are toddler friendly have been an awesome way to incorporate fall fun into Griff’s life. Here are my top 3 favorite at home toddler activities.

1. Pumpkin Washing
2. Fall Sensory Bin
3. Roll Acorns down a ramp

Pumpkin washing can be a great fall activity for toddler age that can really get them engaged. They don’t understand the concept of Fall but they know what a pumpkin is and they love water! Grab a tub, fill it with some water, add some soap, add some fun cloths and brushes, and don’t forget the pumpkins! You could add different sized pumpkins as well as some other fall squashes to make it more fun. The more bubbles the more fun! Add a little drying section for your kids to dry off the pumpkins. Pro tip, add a little dirt to the pumpkins before hand so they can see how their hard work pays off when the pumpkins are nice and clean!

Fall Sensory bins can be basically whatever you have laying around at your house. Don’t overthink it or over complicate it. Kids are intrigued by the simplest of things. Grab a bin and collect some fun fall items. Leaves, Pinecones, Acorns, Sticks, Corn kernels, Straw, Fall Shapes Plastic Cookie Cutters. You can add in some cheap fall colored play-doh or make your own! Another favorite are fall colored puff balls from the arts and crafts section at the store. Make it Halloween themed and add some foam cut outs of ghosts, bats, at pumpkins. They sell plastic little spiders at the dollar store that can be a spooky add in too! Sensory bins are a fantastic way to create Fall fun for your toddlers, and it also helps them learn through play.

Acorn Roll is my third favorite fun fall activity with Griff. I think this might be his top favorite activity. Just like rolling his toy cars down the ramps we build for him and slides. We gathered acorns outside in a little bucket. Get creative with your ramps, use cardboard boxes, pieces of wood, add a toilet paper roll for a tunnel. We colored three acorns, red blue and green, and raced them down our makeshift ramp down our front step. Our rolling then turned into throwing acorns into our plants but it definitely added some Fall fun into both of our lives.

I hope these fun quick play ideas can make their way into your homes! There are so many fun little fall activities you can do to keep your kids active and outdoors. Try these 3 and let me know what you think in the comments 🙂