Write each child's name with glue on small pieces of cardboard. Ask children to place popcorn kernels on the glue lines. Set the pieces of cardboard aside to dry. This activity gives children a chance to use an everyday object in a new and creative way, and helps them develop fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. Make a hole in the top of each piece of cardboard and loop a small piece of ribbon, twine or yarn through it to hang. You can also do this activity using dried beans and peas.
Draw leaf outlines with pencil or pen on watercolor paper. Each leaf should be about the size of your hand. Spray the paper with water or brush water on with a clean paintbrush. Let children paint the wet leaf shapes with watercolors. Limit their palette to red, yellow and orange to reproduce autumn leaf colors. The wet-on-wet technique will result in blended colors.
Give each child a small brown paper bag -- the kind used for packing lunches. Each child will paint the outsides of the bag with orange tempera paint. Set the bags aside to dry. When the bags are dry, children can crumple newspaper and stuff it inside the bag leaving 4 inches near the top. Gather the top closed and wrap it with a piece of green yarn. Children can paint the top, or pumpkin stem, with green or brown paint. Set these pumpkins aside and let children draw faces on them with black marker on Halloween.
Cut branch shapes from brown paper -- the insides of paper bags works well -- and mount them to a poster or display board. Give your students pieces of orange, yellow, brown and red tissue paper and ask them to crumple them slightly. Glue the crumpled leaves to the space surrounding the branches. You can also give your students pre-cut paper leaf shapes to color and glue on to the tree.