Soon, the air will turn cooler and the days will get rainier. There will be weekends when it’s too blustery to go outside, and your kids will tell you how bored they are. The good news is there are plenty of fun indoor activities for the fall.
Here are ten fun fall activities that you can take indoors on those colder fall days:
1. Shaving Cream Play
This was always a hit when I worked in daycare. Spray a few cans of foam shaving cream (not gel) on the table and let your kids go to town. They can put their hands in it, squeeze it in their fingers, and make a colossal mess all over the table. My kids used to rub it into the table and when they were done, our room smelled amazing!
2. Slip n Slide Bubble Wrap
Take some bubble wrap and tape it to the top of a table. Then get some baby shampoo and a spray bottle. Put a dollop of baby shampoo at each place where your kids will play and then spray it with some water and let your kids slip and slide to their hearts' content.
3. Fall Arts and Crafts
There are all kinds of fall crafts you can do with your kids. You can make glitter apples and glitter pumpkins. Print out a template of an apple on cardstock and let your kids color it red, yellow, or green, and then paint glue on it and sprinkle red, green, or yellow glitter on top. Or print out the template of a pumpkin and let your kids color it and then paint it with glue and sprinkle it with orange glitter. Other ideas include fall garland, school buses for back to school, fall animal crafts, etc. You could also get fall-shaped macaroni and make necklaces and bracelets with your kids.
You could print off a picture of a tree and have your kids paste fall-leaf-shaped pasta on it or use your kids' fingerprints to make apples on the tree. You could get a big roll of paper from a paper supply store and cut off a long piece and tape it to the wall in your garage. Then get some paints and brushes and let your kids splatter paint all over the paper. You could also do this outside in the driveway, too. You could buy fall stamps and they can stamp art.
The craft ideas are endless!
4. Fall Food Activities
Get some instant pudding that comes in fall colors like brown (chocolate), butterscotch (gold), vanilla (and tint it with food coloring like red or purple), and some wax paper. Add dollops of pudding onto the wax paper and let them fingerpaint. Another less messy option is to get a cheap plastic tablecloth from the dollar store and cut up the middle of the corners so you have two flaps to tie around the table leg. Tie the tablecloth to the table and then, when they are done, all you have to do is roll it up and throw it away.
Another idea is to cut up vegetables and get all your ingredients together for a soup. If your kids are older, they can help you clean and cut up the vegetables. Either way, let your kids help you make soup for a cold, chilly day. You could also teach them to make a loaf of bread to go with it.
5. Make Homemade Playdough
Kids love playdough. When I was working in daycare, it was one of their favorite things to play with. Even better? Homemade playdough. You can find all kinds of scented homemade playdough recipes online. I’ve seen recipes for pumpkin playdough, apple cinnamon playdough, and gingerbread playdough. Some recipes even use edible ingredients.
Usually, there are lots of yard sales in the fall, so go to a few and see if you can find some accessories for your homemade playdough so the kids can make things. Look for sets of tools, a fun factory set, or even a dinosaur set.
6. Make Homemade Fall-Colored Slime
Go online and find recipes for fall-colored slime. There are all kinds of slime you can make, from fall colored to glitter to leaves slime, cinnamon slime, and beyond.
7. Play Games
If it’s a rainy day and you can’t go outside, break out the board games like Candyland, Chutes n Ladders, and Hi-Ho Cherry O for your little ones. Older kids can play games like Scrabble, Monopoly, or Sorry. Card games like UNO (and its many variations), Old Maid, and Go Fish are always popular too. If your young kids have a bowling or golf set, you could set that up in the living room for them to play.
If you have a finished basement, you could set up an obstacle course, break out a parachute with a ball, set up a game of corn hole, or even roller skate or ride their bikes.
8. Read Fall-Themed Books
Reading with your kids is an important activity. It’s a time for you to bond and foster a love of reading in your children. There are all kinds of fun books about fall: Spookley the Square Pumpkin, The Berenstain Bears Fall Family Fun, Biscuit Visits the Pumpkin Patch, and A Very Hungry Caterpillar’s First Fall. These titles are just the tip of the iceberg. There are lots of titles you can find about various fall topics, from leaves to pumpkins to scarecrows.
9. Bake Fall Treats
Baking with your kids is a great way to bond and teach them important concepts like math skills, time management, and portion control for healthier eating.
Fall is a season for awesome flavors like pumpkin spice, caramel apple, and cinnamon. You can make pumpkin coffee cake, scones, and cookies. There are all kinds of recipes for caramel apple cupcakes, layer cakes, and caramel apple dumplings. Cinnamon is another great flavor that you can bake with, including cinnamon rolls, bread, and coffee cake.
You could take a day and bake various fall treats to share with friends, family, and neighbors. Another idea is to bake a bunch of treats and set up a bake sale table outside your home. Setting up at a farmer’s market or other event and selling your homemade goodies is also an option. People love homemade baked goods and you could have the ‘perfect’ scone or slice of coffee cake to accompany someone’s cup of java. You could even do a baking competition with your kids and then have friends and family vote for the best-baked goods.
Make Fall Jewelry
Gather supplies to make fall jewelry with beads in different colors and fall shapes. Your kids will love making their own bling for the season!
There are all kinds of fun things to do with your kids during the fall. Take some time to look over this list and plan a few fun weekend activities with your kids. They will love spending time with you and being creative or learning something new. The next time it’s too chilly or rainy to go out, you will have plenty of ideas to stifle their boredom and keep them entertained. Get ready to have the best fall ever this year.
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/vlada_maestro