Painting pumpkins for Halloween is a simple and fun alternative to carving pumpkins that allows even the smallest children get in on the fun.
Want to get little ones involved in decorating for Halloween, but not ready to let them loose with a knife? This activity is the perfect solution.
Painting pumpkins is so simple that even very, very young children can do it, it also only requires stuff that (apart from the pumpkin) you are bound to already have at home.
And the kids LOVE it!
Forget the plastic, and have some spooky fun in the woods with a Halloween forest school session.
Over the years I’ve built up a whole assortment of frightfully good nature activities to do with children in October.
Here are thirteen of my favourite tried-and-tested Halloween activities for nature play.
Pumpkin hammering – or rather, hammering golf tees into pumpkins – is a fabulously easy and fun activity that children love. It is perfect for the autumn season, and, come Halloween, it’s a favourite activity at my forest school sessions.
And don’t let the simplicity of the activity fool you. Not only do kids LOVE it, but there are also lots of developmental and educational benefits. And there are some great extension activities you can do as well.
Read on to find out what you need to get started, and why pumpkin hammering is a must-do activity for us!
Glow-worms and fireflies have to be among the most magical creatures around. Living creatures that glow; is there anything stranger or more wonderful?
When we discovered there is a native British (or rather, European) glow-worm, we were inspired to make a lantern version, that shines just like the real thing.
Quick and easy to do, they are a great way to inspire children to learn about real glow-worms and the magic of bioluminescence. Read on to find out how to make them!
Continue readingLast Halloween I had the challenge of putting together a pumpkin trail for small children. This meant carving pumpkins that were friendly rather than frightening, and more gorgeous than gruesome. And so what could be more perfect for little ones than a Pumpkin Animals trail?
Want some inspiration and ideas for your own unscary pumpkins? Read on to see what I made!
Continue readingThese hedgehog pumpkins are are perfect non-scary halloween decorations for little children. What’s more, even tiny tots can get involved in making them.
Want to see how? Read on to find out!
One of our favourite autumn and Halloween activities for kids is making this adorable pumpkin bird feeder. They are really easy to make, look amazing hanging from the trees, and, as they are made from all natural materials, are great for the wildlife in more ways than one.
Want to make some with your kids? Read on to find out how.
One of our favourite autumn activities is making conker creatures. Like most families, we absolutely love collecting conkers (or horse chestnuts) in the autumn. There’s something so tactile about those smooth, shiny shells that’s just irresistible. A conker hunt means the thrill of finding a shiny conker hiding under crinkly leaves, or revealing hidden treasure by winkling them out from a spiky green casing. Just irresistible!
It takes the kids no time at all to amass a great big pile of them and, as they last for ages, they make a great material for some lovely autumn crafts. We’ve come up with lots of ideas on how to use them, and one activity we often do, is creating these cute Conker Creatures.
Whether you want them for ornaments or to use in a party banner, making DIY twig letters is a wonderfully easy craft to do. Here at Rhubarb and Wren, we’ve been making them for forest school parties, seasonal events, and even as individual letter ornaments to hang on the Christmas tree and decorate presents!
Want to make some too? Read on to find out how!
Have your kids conkers gone wrinkly? When autumn comes around my kids just can’t help collecting bucket loads of shiny horse chestnuts. However conkers start to lose some of their charm once the shrivels (as we like to call it) sets in. There are only so many games of conkers we can play, so, to avoid being buried alive by these puckered leftovers, we’ve found other ways to make use of them. One of our favourites is to turn them into Conker Comets…
Probably the most fun you can have with conker – and it makes a great bonfire night craft too! Read on to see how we do it.
