Acorn fine motor activities for math, science, art, literacy, sensory play, play and more! We love collecting acorns in the fall on nature hikes. Acorns are a fun, and free fall theme manipulative that are great for encouraging fine motor skills while having fun exploring nature.

Acorn activities a good way to combine a little science, math, and fine motor work in one activity. Make a craft, paint a picture, and add a favorite book for fall like Earl the Squirrel and you have the perfect early childhood lesson plan! Fall sensory activities are the best!

FALL ACORN ACTIVITIES FOR MATH, SCIENCE, LITERACY & ART

Acorn Fine Motor ActivitiesPin

LEARN WITH ACORNS

A Sunday morning nature walk up to a beautiful mountaintop produced a collection of acorns, carefully gathered by my young scientist as we hiked along. Perfect for simple fine motor, science, math, and sensory activities.

Lately, we have enjoyed simple hands-on activities with an early learning focus that reinforces concepts we have already learned. I have also handpicked some fun acorn activities for you this fall!

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Be Careful! Now we all know that little insects can live in acorns, and it might be okay or not okay for you depending on your acorn activity. Here’s how to prep acorns for craft projects and other activities. This might be especially helpful if you plan to add acorns to a fall sensory bin.

Click here to get your free Fall STEM activities!

ACORN ACTIVITIES FOR MATH AND SCIENCE

The supplies listed below are for our acorn activities that encourage fine motor, math, and science skills.

SUPPLIES NEEDED:

  • acorns
  • muffin tin
  • nutcracker
  • tweezers
  • magnifying glass
  • bowl of water
  • mini strainer
acorn fine motor fall sensory play activity set upPin

ACORN MATH GAMES

We practiced simple transferring and one-to-one counting skills with our little pile of acorns. I asked how many more acorns you need and how many acorns are left. Basic counting skills with a bit of problem-solving as well as fine motor practice.

Find more preschool math activities and printables here.

Acorn Fine Motor Fall Activity Sensory Transfer Tweezers CountingPin

CRACKING ACORNS

This handy little wooden nutcracker has provided us with many opportunities for hand strengthening. He loves to crack whole nuts! I thought it would be a great discovery and exploration activity with the acorns to see what was inside them.

He worked hard to crack many acorns, each with a different surprise, including a tiny worm! See above if you don’t want to find tiny worms.

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SINK OR FLOAT

We do love science as well as sensory play and all young scientists use fine motor skills for experiments! This also makes for simple water sensory play and the sieve is an easy fine motor tool. Add your acorns to a bowl of water. What do you notice? Do they sink or float?

Make sure to take a look at Fall Science Activities for Preschoolers

Acorn Fine Motor Fall Sensory Science Sink Or FloatPin

MORE FUN ACORN ACTIVITIES

Nature makes for wonderful, hands-on fine motor play! Take a walk with your child and gather everything you need while enjoying the wonderful fall season outdoors together! What else can you do with acorns? Check out the ideas below by clicking on photos or links.

Click on the image below or the link for more awesome fall theme ideas!

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7 Comments

  1. I love the nutcracker cup. Would you be willing to share where I might buy one? Thank you for all of your posts! Love the ideas!

  2. So you throw on in water.. it floats.. you break one open, you can’t eat it .. you zoom in with magnifying glass and you’re done. You’re better off leaving the kid under the tree where you found the acorns,let it try to climb it.. get hands dirty with leaves and trow acorns at another kid… it’ll have alot more fun without these ‘tools’. Sorry but by doing this you’re limiting your kids imagination and will to explore.

  3. Pingback: Must-Try Simple Fall Science Activities - Preschool Inspirations

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