We hope you enjoy this fall bucket list full of fun fall activities, and autumn arts and crafts that kids from toddlers to teens will LOVE!
Try any of these fun fall activities on this fall bucket list with your children this autumn to support their learning, or just for fun! Autumn is one of the best times of year to get outside to enjoy nature’s seasonal sights, whether the outing is for educational purposes or pleasure.
The gorgeous array of colors, delicious smells, and crisp cold temperatures all make the fall an enjoyable time of year. Find a few classic autumn activities, and maybe a few new ideas to try, within this simple bucket list of fall activities for kids. You may also like our Winter Bucket List.
Fall Bucket List: 18 Fun Fall Activities, Arts, and Crafts
Have fun checking off some of these fun fall activities with the kids for the best autumn ever! Learn more about each of the autumn activities listed by clicking on the blue hyperlinked text within each suggestion.
Remember this is not a must-do list, but a can-do list. If it’s not fun, don’t do it. Choose the fall activities that you and your children would like to participate in this autumn, and ditch the rest!
Related: Thanksgiving Traditions: 20 Fun Things to do on Thanksgiving
1. Go On A Scavenger Hunt
We have a few fun ideas for scavenger hunts in the fall. One of our favorites is searching for the signs of autumn. The sights and sounds of the changing seasons appear all around as the seasons begin to change. It’s become a game that my daughter and I play as each season turns into the next.
Another fun idea is to go out into nature to search for specific colors or shapes. My daughter and I see hearts everywhere we go and have created a beautiful video of them all that you can see in our heart-shaped nature scavenger hunt.
Have you ever made a sensory bin with natural materials? Go on a nature sensory bin scavenger hunt this autumn with the kids to make your own, or create a nature sensory card!
2. Gather Treasures for Nature Crafts
If you go out on a scavenger or nature hunt this autumn, collect some nature crafting materials too! Collect acorns to make acorn marble necklaces, and leaves to make leaf art, turkey leaf lanterns for Thanksgiving or heartleaf mason jars just for fun!
If you find leaves that are sturdy enough, like magnolia leaves, use them for leaf lacing or sewing practice, or press and preserve autumn leaves to use later.
To see a list filled with gorgeous fall nature craft ideas click on the link!
3. Celebrate the Fall Equinox
The autumnal equinox, or Mabon, marks the official beginning of fall in the northern hemisphere. Learn all about the fall equinox and fun ways to celebrate the start of this glorious season. Just click the link to learn more!
4. Visit a Pumpkin Patch
Going to a pumpkin patch to pick out pumpkins is a classic fall activity for kids and families. We are lucky enough to live in an area where we can visit a new pumpkin patch every year, but of course, we have our favorites.
5. Find Your Way Through a Corn Maze
May pumpkin patches have a corn maze, while some are separate. Find a corn maze near you and get lost with the whole family!
6. Pick Apples and Make Cider
Another fun fall activity to do with the whole family (or class) is to go to the apple orchard to collect apples to use for crafting and baking. Check out these “Apple Orchard Field Trip Ideas” for all of our favorite apple activities, apple crafts, and apple recipes to enjoy the fruits of your labors!
7. Decorate or Carve a Pumpkin
Pumpkin carving and no-carve decorating is a classic fall activity for the whole family to enjoy! You can find our favorite pumpkin carving tips and ideas listed in pumpkin patch ideas and fall nature crafts.
If you feel up to it, take the time to decorate for Halloween while you’re at it. Have a look at any of the fun Halloween decoration ideas listed below.
- Halloween Ghost Crafts and Decorations
- Giant Stick Spider Web
- Halloween Spider Craft
- Spider Egg Sac Halloween Decoration
- Halloween Door Decor
- Skeleton and Spiderweb Front Porch Decor
8. Enjoy a Bonfire
The fall is an excellent time of year to have a bonfire. Many people celebrate the autumn equinox and the changing seasons with a bonfire celebration. Learn how to build a campfire and learn how to have a fun and safe night in bonfire ideas for kids and families.
9. Take Your Camera on a Hike
My daughter and I love taking our cameras on hikes and nature walks. The gorgeous array of colors that appears in the autumn makes it an especially lovely time of year to get outside with a camera
. Get outside with the whole family and take pictures of all the fantastic fall colors and natures seasonal sights!
10. Make a Thankful Tree
Whether you celebrate Thanksgiving in the autumn or not, the fall is an excellent time of year to make a thankful tree.
Our daughter loves decorating trees so much we make one for every season; A Christmas tree in the winter, an Easter Tree in the spring, a butterfly tree in the summer, and a thankful tree in the fall.
We have made both a thankful tree with real autumn leaves and a thankful tree with clay gratitude leaves. Make your favorite this fall!
11. Play in the Falling Leaves
The autumn wouldn’t be complete without at least one romp in the fall leaves. Our family loves to jump in the leaves, count, and catch falling leaves, and we have a whole slew of other fun ways to play in fall leaves that the entire family, or class, can enjoy.
12. Bake Pumpkin Bread
Who doesn’t love the smell of pumpkin baking in the fall? Pumpkin pies and pumpkin bread are two of the most classic pumpkin recipes. Learn how to make homemade pumpkin puree to give each of your fall recipes a fresh autumn taste.
My family’s favorite pumpkin recipe is pumpkin cranberry bread. Try it today! I guarantee your family will clamor for its tangy-sweet goodness every autumn, just as mine does!
13. Create a Fall Nature Table
A nature table is an area in the home dedicated to nature and the natural world. Items collected in the natural environment or objects that represent nature are placed on the table to be learned about, played with, and enjoyed.
We change our nature table every few months to reflect the season, so the items on it are added and taken away throughout the year. Learn more about our fall nature table by clicking on the link.
Related: Acorn Peg Dolls
14. Paint with Fall Colors
Paint with fall colors as a process art activity, paint a maple, oak, or beech autumn leaf, make a fall tree collage, paint a harvest pumpkin, or try any of these other fantastic fall art projects for kids!
Related: Halloween Art Projects Kids LOVE!
15. Take a Hayride
Going on a hayride is another classic fall activity for the whole family. Many times you can find a pumpkin patch with a hayride to do both fun fall activities in one fell swoop!
Check your local family resource guide or google “hayride near me” to find one in or near your city or town.
16. Read Books About the Fall
Reading books that reflect the season is a great way to help our children learn about the natural rhythms and seasons of our amazing planet. Check out this impressive collection of fall books for kids to see our family favorites!
Related: Books That Teach Kids Important Life Lessons
18. Practice Gratitude
Practice gratitude in your home all year long with these gratitude activities and crafts, or check out this comprehensive list of Thanksgiving gratitude activities and crafts!
19. Go on a Lantern Walk
A fall lantern walk is a traditional autumn celebration held as the days get shorter and the nights grow longer in the days leading up to the Winter Solstice. It is a celebration that inspires a connection to the rhythms of nature, community, and the light within. The traditional lantern crafts, songs, and celebration ideas listed HERE can be used to create your own lantern festival at home or in your community.
20. Play Outside on a Rainy Day
Rainy day activities don’t have to be inside! If it rains where you live in the fall, try any of these fun ways to play in the rain this autumn.
21. Spy on Squirrels
Spending time observing squirrels romp and play is a fun fall activity for kids and adults of all ages. Did you know that one of their most important jobs is to forget where they hid their nuts? The forgotten stores have helped to plant trees across the globe! Click on the link for more fun squirrel facts, and other fun ways to learn about squirrels.
22. Enjoy Birdwatching
My family and I love birding year-round. In the fall we love to head out into nature and observe the large flocks of migratory birds passing over our heads as they head south for the winter. Learn all of our favorite ways to learn about birds in Birdwatching Activities for Kids and Adults.
Best Fall Activities and Crafts for the Fall Season
We hope this awesome collection of autumn activities helps you enjoy this magical season… Or, Make your own Fall Bucket List!!
Related: How to Plan a Powerful Daily Routine
Make your own Fall Bucket List
Fill your fall bucket list with all of the full fall activities that YOU like the BEST! Here’s how:
- Brainstorm your favorite things to do in the fall–don’t forget to include a few of the ideas above!
- Write your fall bucket list down or type it up and print it out.
- Share your fall activity list with your family, or classroom, and post it somewhere that everyone can see it.
- Make the time to do each fall activity on your list together by putting each one into your seasonal household rhythms.
Remember this is not a must-do list, but a can-do list. If it’s not fun don’t do it. Choose the fall activities that you would like to do this autumn and ditch the rest!
Our hope for you us that the fall season will be full of joy and togetherness!
Learn more about Rhythms of Play HERE!
