By Spramani Elaun
It’s the fall season here in North America, and I couldn’t be more excited! If you’re new to my art newsletter (Sign Up), let me tell you that I absolutely adore this time of year and all the vibrant autumn colors it brings. As an art teacher with years of experience, I’ve created countless crafts and painting lessons that are perfect for kids. Today, I want to share some of my favorite autumn and Halloween crafts kids love to make.
But before we jump into the crafts, I want to emphasize the beauty of creating crafts in a natural and organic way. Crafting is a timeless human activity that brings immense joy. While Pinterest is a great source of inspiration, I encourage you to think about incorporating natural elements from your surroundings into home or classroom. No matter where you are in the world there are natural elements you can bring indoors and decorate with. Think rocks, flowers, seashells, seeds, twigs, leaves, pumpkins, gourds and driftwood. As a secret tip, kids are far more curious about natural decorations rather than store-bought ones!
One of the things I cherish most about autumn is decorating the indoors with treasures gathered from the outdoors. As a homeschooling mom, I’ve always enjoyed sending my kids outside to collect fascinating natural elements that we can use to embellish our home or front door. It’s a delightful collaborative activity that nurtures a sense of togetherness and celebrates the season. Additionally, it ignites conversations about generosity, gratitude, and nature’s resources. I adore the ability to create with nature. In case you didn’t know, this is why my company is named Nature of Art®. The majority of my arts and crafts either involve nature, contribute to nature, or incorporate eco-friendly materials.
Autum/Fall & Halloween Chidren’s Craft Ideas
Here’s a list of classic autumn fall and Halloween crafts that your children will love to make this season:
- Rock painting: Grab some rocks and acrylic paint. Paint fun fall colors – scary halloween creatures. You will need rocks, acrlyic paint and paintbrushes. Click link to read blog for set up tips.
- Pumpkin painting: Instead of carving pumpkins, why not paint them? Let children paint these orange pumpkins any wild color. You will need pumpkins or ack-be-littles, tempera or acrylic paint, paintbrushes. click link to read blog for set up tips.
- Gratitude cards: Encourage your children to reflect on what they’re grateful for and create beautiful cards expressing their gratitude. These cards can be given to family and friends as heartfelt gifts. Buy or make your own cards. Read blog for set up tips.
- Leaf prints: Head outside and collect a variety of leaves. I love to rub them with our Colour Block crayons and create pretty rainbow shades. click link to get ideas on how to do this project.
- Black Bat Over The Moon: This lesson teaches one of my favorite topics on concentric designs. This is paper and paint craft. click link to read blog for how to do this craft with children.
- Painting Ornaments: This is a classic for me. I collect wood crafts from the local craft store and holiday paint. You will need to buy wood or glass ornaments, click link to read blog for set up tips.
- Gingerbread Making: While gingerbread houses are typically associated with Christmas, why not start early? Bake gingerbread houses or cookies, and let your kids decorate them with colorful icing and sprinkles. It’s a delicious and festive activity. I’ve been doing this for years with my children and students. Get lots of fun colors of iciing and candy. You can make your own gingerbead or store buy, click link to see how to set up for gingerbead making.
- Leaf Painting: Instead of using leaves for prints, try painting directly on them. Use acrylic paint. Collect from the outdoors, click here to read how to collect and set up tips.
What to integrate more nature and art into your important lessons?
If you’re looking to bring the beauty of nature and the creativity of art into your important lessons, I have just the solution for you. Join me for my 3-video training series where I’ll show you how to seamlessly integrate nature and art into your curriculum. To learn more and sign-up, visit the registration page HERE Theme Art & The Natural World
