Happy Fall Y’all! Autumn 2020 has been different from past years… to say the least. As a new mom, I’m so excited to start all these new fall traditions with my 1-year-old son, but with everything going on, I need alternatives to the typical hayrides and pumpkin picking.
I know you mommas are in the same boat, so I’ve come up with a list of fun activities and crafts that you can do with your little baby at home this year.
Some of them are just a fun fall-themed way for baby to explore fall inside and others are cute keepsakes from their first fall that you can cherish forever. But the best part is- all of them encourage Baby’s development!
Here’s your “Fall Bucket List” of crafts and indoor activities for Baby’s First Fall!
Skip Ahead:
Mess-Free Leaf Painting
Who says babies can’t paint? Here’s a mess-free art project that’s totally baby-safe!
I love this activity by Emma from Kid’s Craft Room because the contrast between the black paper and the colors is awesome for Baby’s brain development, but they simultaneously get to practice fine motor skills to move the paint around.
What you’ll need:
- Free Leaf Templates – (6 free templates to choose from here!)
- Black Paper (Cardstock works best)
- Sealable Bags
- Paint
- Tape
You can find Emma’s instructions for this fun baby activity here.
If you let the paint dry afterward, you could even save their artwork as a keepsake in the baby book.
Something else I like to do is squirt a few drops of paint directly onto a piece of watercolor paper, cardboard, or cardstock (anything thick) and slide that paper into the plastic bag.
That way, your baby can squish around the paint and get all artistic but once they’re finished, you can slide the paper out so it dries quickly and you can save it as a fall 2020 memory!
Fall Leaf Sensory Bag
Again, Emma from Kids Craft Room has a great sensory bag recipe for fall too. It’s a great way to stimulate the tiny guys, but is a fun activity for mobile babies too.
What you’ll need:
- Sealable Bags
- Cooking Oil
- Food coloring
- Leaves
- Glitter
- Sequins
You can find Emma’s instructions for building these fall sensory bags here.
Before becoming a mom, I worked at a nursery with babies aged 6 weeks to 2 years old. Talk about fun… and chaos. I quickly learned that tummy time, while developmentally necessary, was not a favorite activity for all babies. (Actually, most babies don’t enjoy tummy time!)
The trick I used was the “distraction method.” Specifically for tummy time, I loved using interesting sensory bags. Of course, Baby always needs to be supervised when they’re playing with the bags, but I found that if I taped the bag to the floor and propped Baby up on a boppy pillow, the glittery contents would really grab their attention and distract even my most anti-tummy time students.
For babies who are already mobile, I like to tape the bag to a sliding glass door so that the sunlight shines through the bag. Babies who are just learning to sit up can be in a supported sitting position in front of the window (prop them up with a boppy pillow behind their back). The same “distraction method” works here. They’ll sit up for longer periods of time if they have some busy work in front of them!
If you don’t have a sliding door, a mirror or a lightbox are also fun experiments to try!
Tip: Either double up the bag so that it’s extra leak-proof OR cover the bag with thick, clear packing tape. This makes the bag a little stronger and also seals the sensory bag to the floor or window.
(I’d recommend that you don’t let Baby pick it up as they’ll tend to put it in their mouth and we don’t want that!)
Pumpkin Squish
Okay, pumpkin carving is a MUST for every fall bucket list and now the babies don’t have to be left out of the tradition! Jenae from I Can Teach My Child had the fantastic idea to make a sensory bag out of the squishy insides of your pumpkin.
This is a super easy activity! If you’re already carving pumpkins, just save the insides and let baby explore them- without the choking hazard!
Again, I would recommend taping the bag to a table or window so that Baby can have fun squishing, but not try to teeth on the plastic bag.
What You’ll Need:
- Pumpkin “innards”
- Sealable Bag
You can see how much Jenae’s baby girl enjoyed this activity here.
Fall Sensory Bottles
From Views From A Step Stool, this craft is very similar to the sensory bags, but it’s something that’s safe for Baby to pick up and explore with their hands. (Using a plastic bottle, of course!)
Tip: Glue the lid onto the bottle once you’ve filled it to make sure Baby can’t get the bottle open. (Though as always, Baby should be supervised during play.)
What You’ll Need:
- Baby oil
- Warm water
- 4 plastic water bottles
- Fall leaf confetti
- Plastic acorns
- Faux leaves
- Yellow, orange, and brown pony beads
- Glue
Get the full instructions here.
I love that this article has “recipes” to make an Autumn Leaves, Falling Leaves, Calico Corn, and Acorn sensory bottle concoctions.
They’re so cute and colorful, I can’t wait to make one for E! Now that he’s at the stage where he grabs at everything, I know he’ll really enjoy shaking these glittery wonders.
(In fact, I’m planning to make one without liquid at all so that it makes noise when he shakes it.)
Tip: You can pop one bottle in the fridge and set another in a sunny window if you want your little one to experience the difference between hot and cold! It takes the sensory to another level and also helps older babies learn “hot” and “cold” vocab.
Easy Fall Footprint Art
If you’re like me, 2020 has been a huge reminder to stay in better touch with my family.
If you’re new here, I’m an American-raised mom, figuring out how to raise my 1-year-old son in Mexico. Usually, my parents get to visit me in the sunny South a few times a year and then I make the effort to bring the little guy up to visit his relatives up North.
Well, you’re aware that travel this year has been a LOT trickier, if not impossible. My family and I have seen each other once in 2020 and as you know, the little ones grow FAST!
I mean, thank God for FaceTime and WhatsApp, but every few months it’s like I have a completely different child. The baby who was toddling around with his aunt and uncle this summer has grown up so much more now that the leaves are changing color.
His grandparents especially feel like they’re missing out- which I hate to think about. So this fall, I decided to create some cute little keepsakes that my son can easily personalize and send out to the family.
I wanted my family to feel like they’re part of this fun time for us- E experiencing all the fun of fall!
These crafts are super easy to make if you’ve got a long mailing list of relatives and super fun for the little guys to personalize. (Not to mention, it’s paper so it’s cheap postage!)
What You’ll Need:
- Printable Craft Pages
- Paper (heavy-weight or cardstock for best quality)
- Stamp pad or Non-toxic washable paint
You can find this Fall Printable Bundle here!
All you need to do is print these cute templates and use either a stamp pad or washable paint to stamp Baby’s footprints or handprints on each page.
I used to make all kinds of footprint crafts when I worked in the nursery and I haven’t met a kid yet who didn’t love the tickle of paint on their feet!
I’m so excited to mail these out. I know that E’s grandparents are going to LOVE and appreciate them… especially this year. 🙂
Fall Tree Sticky Window Activity
Jessica from Mrs. Plemons’ Kindergarten has a great activity idea if your baby is already mobile. This is more age-appropriate for babies who are learning to sit up, crawl, pull up, or walk.
What You’ll Need:
- Foam Paper (cut out leaf shapes)
- Clear Contact Paper
- Marker
See the instructions for this sticky window activity here.
Honestly, if you have older kids too, this is a really fun activity for babies through grade school kids to work on together.
Fall Sensory Bin (Baby-Safe!)
I got really excited when I stumbled across this baby-safe sensory bin from Mrs. Plemons’ Kindergarten. Sensory bins are such a fun activity for older kids, but this is the first time I’ve found a baby-safe version and I love it!
What You’ll Need:
- Silk Leaves
- Blocks
- Orange and Yellow Balls
- Red, Orange, and Yellow Giant Beads
Find Jessica’s instructions for this baby-safe sensory bin here.
Basically, she combined red, yellow, and orange colored toys with faux leaves in a box to make it fall-themed. What a great idea!
The colors are sure to grab a tiny baby’s attention and older babies might even enjoy sorting them by color! And since you can make this with anything in the toybox, it’s FREE and you already know it’s safe for baby to play with.
And from my own experience, I can say that combining toys in a new way always has a “new toy” effect on my son. It’s exciting and new, even if it’s not actually new.
One thing I love about Mrs. Plemons’ blog is that every activity has an educational purpose or lesson plan to go with it. You’re not just entertaining Baby, you’re encouraging him/her to be curious, explore, and learn!
PS- She also has a cool “leaf stuffing” activity using silk leaves and an empty wet wipes container! What a great way to recycle those (and excellent fine motor skills development!)
Fall-Themed Touch & Feel Board Books
Books are always good for developing a baby’s language skills, but touch and feel books are a great way to explore fall textures too! I’ve found a few fun fall-themed board books on Amazon that are all priced at about $3-$5 each. (They make cute gifts too!)
Biscuit’s Pet & Play Halloween
By Alyssa Satin Capucilli
If your baby is like mine and has grown up with dogs in the home, they might love this book! Biscuit the dog is on a Halloween adventure. What I like about this book is that it offers a huge variety of textures for baby to feel: fur, straw, glitter, silk, and tinsel.
Touch and Feel Fall
By Scholastic Early Learners
While it’s nice to have colorful artwork and drawings, I do like that this book has real animal photography with vocabulary to go with each picture to help with word association. Not only can they see a real photo of a fox, but they can feel like they’re petting him as well!
See Touch Feel: Happy Thanksgiving
By Roger Priddy
I love the idea that the artwork in this book was created from handprints and footprints. It’s a very sweet Thanksgiving gift for Baby and something fun for relatives to share with the little one during holiday get-togethers.
Baby Touch and Feel: Halloween
By DK
I like that this book has a “spooky” Halloween feel, without the scary images. The witch and wizard dolls are very baby appropriate but still scream Halloween!
I Love to Gobble You Up!
By Sandra Magsamen
A very short and sweet book about love (and Thanksgiving.) With little felt feathers at the top, parents are claiming that their babies not only love the gobbling required to read this book, but also the little “teethers” up top 🙂
Whichever memories you choose to make with your baby this year, I hope you have fun, stay safe, and remember to be grateful for this time!
Sending love from my little family to yours,
↓Save this bucket list to your Fall Pinterest Board!↓
