10 more craft ideas for autumn

Autumn is a time of harvest and this can provide the inspiration for many wonderful craft activities. As you plan your sessions, try to make the most of the natural items that are around at this time of year. Not only will this save you money, but it may also inspire the children to give thanks to God for all the good things that He has given them.

1. Harvest baskets: a really simple craft to start the year. Paint the plates brown and leave them to dry (it’s less messy to do this yourself before the children arrive). Cut fruit and veg shapes from coloured paper for the children to glue on, or use pictures from magazines or the internet. Simple fruit and veg shapes can be found at:
   www.activityvillage.co.uk/food_coloring_pages_AV.htm or www.abcteach.com/directory/fun_activities/coloring_pages/foods
   
   Bend the sides of the plate up to form a basket shape and staple on a strip of brown card for a handle.
2. Vegetable and fruit printing: you need to warn parents and have enough overalls for this one, but if you thin down the paint with a little washing-up liquid and avoid the blue/black/purple colours, they are less likely to stain. By limiting the number of colours available, say to autumnal yellow, orange and red, you’ll avoid producing those mud-brown masterpieces! Carve shapes out of half-potatoes or cut peppers, mushrooms, apples, oranges etc. in half to see what patterns are made. You will, of course, get different prints if you cut them in different directions. Do remember to CHECK FOR ALLERGIES before you start.
3. Seed collage: provide as many different seeds, pulses and other dried foods as you can e.g. red, green and brown lentils, brown and white rice, cous cous, popcorn, sunflower seeds and rolled oats, and stick them on to a piece of card to make a collage. Use small pots of PVA glue and spreaders instead of gluesticks, or the ‘bits’ will fall off as the picture dries. Do remember to CHECK FOR ALLERGIES before you start.
4. Bug biscuits: using a chocolate biscuit as the base, stick on liquorice-lace legs and a tea-cake body using icing, and then decorate with other sweets and biscuits to create edible insects, spiders and snails. More detailed instructions can be found on the Playtime website at www.engagetoday.org.uk/playtime/crafts/bug-biscuits. Do remember to CHECK FOR ALLERGIES before you start and provide handwashing facilities too.
5. Toilet roll binoculars: tape two toilet rolls together and decorate in whatever way you like. Tie a knot in each end of a short length of string to stop it from slipping through and then staple it to each side of the binoculars to form the strap. For a different view of the world, tape a circle of coloured cellophane (often used to wrap bunches of flowers) to the front of each toilet roll before you start. Stick pictures of birds and animals around the room for them to ‘spot’ through their binoculars.
6. Stick insects: gather some short sturdy sticks, wrap three lengths of pipe-cleaner around them to form the six insect legs and bend into shape. Stick on other suitable bits and pieces to make a head, eyes and antennae. More detailed instructions can be found on the Playtime website at www.engagetoday.org.uk/playtime/crafts/stick-insects.
7. Spiders webs: use white wool on black card for a really creepy-crawly autumn craft. Take a piece of thin card and use a hole punch to make lines of holes radiating from the centre. Thread wool through to form a spiders web. You can buy bodkins (flat, blunt needles for threading elastic) at a haberdashery to make the threading easier, or tie the wool to a paperclip and then squash it to fit through the holes.
8. Autumn leaves: make a cute hedgehog mask from a paper plate. Cut out eye-holes and a quarter segment for the nose. Stick on leaves using PVA glue and then add a little black nose and a couple of ears. More detailed instructions for this and other animal masks can be found on the Playtime website at www.engagetoday.org.uk/playtime/crafts/animal-masks Be warned though – the leaves will dry and crumble after a few weeks unless you seal them with a coating of PVA glue.
9. Chalky fireworks: provide sheets of black card and different coloured chalks to produce effective night-sky fireworks pictures. Show the children how to smudge the chalk with their fingers to change the effect and add some small, coloured sticky stars to complete their pictures.
10. Christmas puddings: prepare some chocolate crispy cake mixture and give each child a small amount in a paper bowl. Get them to mix in some sultanas, raisins and chopped glace cherries and roll it into a ball. Provide white glace icing for them to spoon over the ‘pudding’ and some fondant icing holly leaves and berries to decorate the top. Further details and a recipe for Mars Bar crispy cakes can be found on the Playtime website. Do remember to CHECK FOR ALLERGIES before you start and provide handwashing facilities too.

Need more ideas? Inspiration can come from books and websites but also from a trip to a scrapstore or craft shop. If you have toddlers of your own, you can adopt or adapt the best ideas from their nurseries. The cheapest activities will recycle junk that friends or family are throwing out - you will probably end up with an eye for 'creative' junk and start your own collection!

Finally, click here to browse the ideas in the craft section of the Playtime website and find out how to turn a toilet roll into a space rocket or make a hedgehog from handprints.

Fiona Burt

Last Updated 27 July 2010