Fall and Halloween Preschool Art Activities

‘Tis the season for colorful leaves, pumpkin spice, and all things spooky. If you have a preschooler who loves arts and crafts, then you may be looking for some autumn-inspired fall and halloween preschool art activities. My preschooler is obsessed with both crafts and Halloween, so I may have a bit of experience in this area. I’ve compiled five of my favorite fall art projects for preschoolers in case you are looking for some fresh ideas or inspiration.

5 Preschool Art Activities for Fall and Halloween

1. Leaf Pumpkin

This is a simple craft that you can do anytime after the leaves change colors! I love this craft because it incorporates nature and outdoor time with art. The craft itself is also great fine motor practice, and you can also add in cutting and tracing practice too!

For this simple preschool Halloween craft, you will first need to collect leaves of different colors outside. Once you have a good amount of leaves, come inside and cut or tear them into “leaf confetti” and place on a tray. Next, trace a pumpkin or other fall object on cardstock paper with liquid glue. You can do this part, or draw a simple outline with a pencil and have your preschooler trace the outline with glue. Last, your preschooler will stick the leaf confetti to the glue outline. Once it’s dry, hang it somewhere prominent to display.

2. Fall Suncatchers

preschool art activities for fall and halloween

Making suncatchers is a classic preschool art activity that can be customized to fit any season. You also have two options for this craft: tissue paper suncatchers or nature suncatchers. Here’s what you will need for this fall art project:

Clear contact paper (you can get this at Dollar Tree)
Tissue paper, cut into small squares, OR pressed leaves and flowers
Black or colored cardstock or construction paper

First, you will need to create an outline of your shape on the paper and cut it out. For our fall suncatchers, I traced around some cookie cutters I had, making the shape a little bigger than the cookie cutter. You can also print a picture from online to trace. You will then need to cut around the outer edge of the shape, and cut out the inside as well.

Once you have your outline cut out, you will attach it to contact paper. Cut around the edge of the shape once more to trim the contact paper. Next, stick tissue paper squares or pressed leaves/flowers to the contact paper! This is great fine motor practice for little ones.

After your preschooler is done sticking the objects on, you can optionally place another piece of contact paper on the other side to cover up any remaining sticky parts. Cut around the edge once more if you do this. Now, they are ready to hang up! Use clear tape to stick on a window and see how pretty they look when the sun shines through.

We did leaves and pumpkins, but you could do any fall or Halloween shape you want. Doing a pumpkin shape and adding some black construction paper for a mouth and eyes would be a fun Halloween craft idea!

3. Coffee Filter Leaves

fall and halloween art activities for kids

If you want to further decorate your windows for fall, these coffee filter leaves are super easy and beautiful! All you need for this craft is coffee filters, watercolor paints, and oil.

First, you will cut leaf shapes out of your coffee filters. You can make as few or as many as you would like. Next, use the watercolors to paint the leaves pretty fall colors. Once they are dry, paint a thin coat of oil (I used canola oil) over each leaf to make it more transparent. Let dry once more, then use a small dab of washable glue to attach to your windows. See how pretty they are?

4. Puffy Paint Ghosts

Puffy paint ghosts are one of our favorite Halloween art activities for preschool! They are super simple to make but really fun. All you need for this spooky art project is a batch of DIY puffy paint, cardstock paper, paintbrushes, and some black construction paper for making eyes and a mouth.

To make the puffy paint, mix equal parts white glue and shaving cream. You can add food coloring if you want, but for ghosts, I recommend leaving them white and painting on colored paper instead.

Once you’ve made the puffy paint, simply grab some paintbrushes and paint ghost shapes! When we did this project, my son wanted me to paint the outline of a ghost shape for him first, but you really can’t go wrong here. Ghosts can be any shape you want.

Once your child is satisfied with their ghost, cut out 3 circles from black paper to make eyes and a mouth. Stick these on the paint before it dries. The paint will dry nice and puffy for a spooky 3D Halloween masterpiece!

Note: Since glue dries clear, if the paint gets spread to thin, it may dry more transparent in some areas. Don’t be afraid to paint it on really thick. This will just make it even puffier!

5. DIY Clay Loose Parts

If you’ve never made homemade air dry clay, you’re really missing out! This is one of our favorite activities for every season, and it doubles as a fun sensory experience (plus, you can use your creations for fall sensory play afterward!). This Halloween preschool art activity is completed in two parts: 1) making the clay (see recipe below), and 2) painting the shapes once dry.

We used mini Halloween cookie cutters we found at Target to cut out most of our Halloween clay shapes, but you can also free hand it like we did for the candy corn. After they’re dry, it’s time to paint them!

So, what do we do with these fun shapes once they’re dry? We use them for sensory play! Here’s a few Halloween sensory bin ideas for using your homemade clay loose parts.

Feed the Ghost Halloween Sensory Bin

This was a super simple set up and great for younger toddlers to practice fine motor skills, pincer grasp, and posting. I made a simple ghost sensory bin insert out of foam board, construction paper/cardstock, washi tape, and a box cutter:

First, cut the foam board to fit on top of your sensory bin.
Cover the board with black construction paper using tape or glue (or, use black foam board and skip this step).
Cut a simple ghost shape out of white cardstock and glue onto the insert.
Optional: Wrap edges with washi tape to further secure the paper.
Draw on two ghost eyes and cut out a mouth.

I placed this insert on one side of our sensory table. In the other, I used a base mix of black and white beans, then added candy corn mini erasers and our candy corn clay shapes. Children can then “feed” the candy corn to the ghost by dropping it in the mouth! For older preschoolers, try adding tongs or other tools to make it more difficult. You could also easily turn this into a Halloween preschool math activity! (The ghost ate 3 candy corns – drop in 3. Then he ate 5 more – drop in 5 more. How many did the ghost eat total? Remove the bin insert to find out!).

Graveyard Counting Halloween Sensory Bin

This sensory bin doubles as a fun Halloween preschool math activity! This one could be too spooky for some young children, but my son absolutely loved it. For this bin, we used our clay coffins which I turned into tombstones by painting gray and writing “RIP” at the top with a Sharpie. Underneath the RIP, I also wrote a number 1-10 for each one.

For the sensory base, I made some taste safe dirt out of flour, cocoa powder, and oil. See the recipe below:

Last, I placed each tombstone in the dirt to create a graveyard and set aside a bowl of bones (styrofoam bones from Dollar Tree – you can also use cotton swabs!). My son then placed the matching number of bones underneath each tombstone. This is great hands-on counting practice for preschoolers!

More Fall and Halloween Art Activities for Preschool

These autumn art projects are just a few of our favorites, but there are so many more I could have shared! For more inspiration, make sure you are following me on Instagram. I’ll be sharing many more ideas throughout the season!