Acorn Activities For Fall Early Learning

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

LEARN WITH ACORNS

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

Lately, we have been enjoying simple hands-on activities with an early learning focus that reinforce concepts we have already learned. I have also handpicked a few more fun acorn activities for you to try out 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 are planning to add acorns to a fall sensory bin.

Looking for easy to print activities, and inexpensive problem-based challenges? 

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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 MATH GAMES

We practiced simple transferring and one to one counting skills with our little pile of acorns. I asked him questions like how many more acorns do you need and how many acorns are left? Basic counting skills with a bit of problem-solving (how many are left= count empty sections) as well as fine motor practice.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Fall Counting Game

CRACKING ACORNS

This handy little wooden nutcracker has provided us many opportunities for hand strengthening. He just 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 and each one held 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?

ALSO CHECK OUT: Fall Science Activities for Preschoolers

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.

• Acorn Paintings from Fun-A-Day
• Acorn Bells from Fireflies and Mudpies
• Fall Tree Activity from Powerful Mothering
• Stamped Acorn Craft from Still Playing School
• Popsicle Stick Acorn Craft from Fireflies and Mudpies
• Acorn Buddies from Learn With Play At Home

ACORN ACTIVITIES FOR EARLY LEARNING FUN

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