We are ‘falling’ for fall alphabet activities! This easy fall tree craft will build your little ones’ letter recognition and upper to lower case discrimination. It also engages little hands with fine motor practice and fun! It’s a great craft to add to your list of autumn activities for preschoolers.
Fall Tree Craft and Alphabet Activity
When fall finally shows up in my neck of the woods, I can’t wait to drag out the long sleeves and head outside for as much of our day as possible. The warm colors and the gorgeous weather that ends the long summer days can create a total (and amazing) shift in my mood and disposition.
We love going on nature walks and walking in the woods behind our house! We look for all sorts of wonder and learn more about various insects, creatures, and plant life.
Just last fall, we were on a glorious walk in the woods, when my son (who was three at the time) ran up to a small and thin tree hoping to pull off a big piece of bark.
Suddenly, the tree cracked in half and the top came crashing down. Fortunately, it got caught on another big oak tree, so only a few branches actually made it to the ground. Suffice it to say, we were all a bit spooked with how close that tree came to falling on us! But true lovers of fall, we were back out the next day to search for more nature goodies.
We’ve got the perfect fall activity with no tree danger! This beautiful fall tree develops letter recognition and capital and lowercase discrimination all rolled into adorable display-worthy art! It’s one of our favorite fall alphabet activities.
FAQ’s about Teaching Fall to Preschoolers
Fall is full of preschool themes galore, from apples to pumpkins to leaves and life cycles. Consider a life cycles unit of an apple, pumpkin, or tree, perfect for including exciting science experiments with these natural elements. Since many areas may experience the leaves changing color or falling to the ground, studying leaves provides great learning activities for kids. Remember to use your 5 senses as you experience your fall preschool activities!
Fall (or autumn) is such a fun time of the year to teach preschoolers. Share that fall is one of the four seasons of the year and is the transition from the hot days of summer to cooler winter. In many parts of the world, the leaves on the trees will begin to change color and the temperature begins to grow colder. During the fall, animals will start to prepare themselves for winter.
There is so much fun learning to be had in this season known for pumpkins, trick-or-treating, and picking apples from apple trees. You can plan fun activities like a field trip to a pumpkin patch or apple orchard, or bring the fall-themed fun into the classroom! Explore the parts of a pumpkin and plant its seeds, then carve jack-o-lanterns. Taste apple and pumpkin-flavored items and invite children to graph their favorites.
There are also an amazing variety of fall crafts for kids to choose from. Explore nature and take your preschoolers out to find evidence of fall and create a fall nature collage (think acorns, pinecones, leaves, twigs, and sticks.) Often, crafts and art projects also double as great fine motor activities and give kids the chance to strengthen those hand muscles. The fall season is loaded with perfect activities for preschoolers!
Fall Tree Alphabet Activity
It’s a beautiful thing when art meets learning, and this is one of those fall alphabet activities that checks all the boxes! Perfect for young toddlers all the way to preschoolers, this easy-to-prep craft is a great introduction to fall.
Materials
The Set-Up
I began by drawing out the large tree shape on white construction paper. Then I randomly wrote letters of the alphabet with a marker all around the tree branches and trunk. I chose to do all 26 lowercase letters on the base of the tree and invite my little guy to match the uppercase letters. You can choose to do it whichever way makes sense for your preschooler.
Alternatively, you can work with your preschooler to use butcher paper for the tree branches and trunk, and tape/glue it down.
Then cut red, yellow, orange, and brown construction paper into strips and write the upper case letters onto the strips with a marker. Be sure to leave enough space between the letters that your child can tear them apart.
Matching the Fall Alphabet Leaves
Have your preschooler tear apart the letters to make “leaves”. Match the leaves to the lower case letters on the tree. Glue the matching uppercase letters to the corresponding lowercase letters. Or if you’d like your little one to repeat this activity, save the leaves in a sandwich baggie to match again another day.
This is a great activity for developing fine motor skills, as well. Invite more opportunities for tearing and ripping by giving your students additional colored paper and time to tear it into smaller pieces. With assistance, students will learn where to best place their hands on the paper (the top edge) to make tearing the easiest, and where to place the rest of their fingers while tearing (tucked into the palm).
The best part about this fall alphabet activity is that it is suitable for even young toddlers. Too little for alphabet practice? Try colors! Allow little hands to tear and rip colored construction paper and glue it to the tree. Discuss the colors of the leaves and think of other same-colored objects.
Now, if you’re not crazy about the look of the torn construction paper to make the leaves, you can also use a cutting machine. I’ve done that in the past, but I love the added fine motor skill work for my preschoolers.
Don’t Forget Fall Picture Books
Reading to kids is so important, and I love mixing in seasonal books during circle time. We’ve hand-picked some of our fall and autumn favorites for you!
More Fine Motor and Fall Activities for Preschoolers
These done-for-you activity packs are packed with themed activities that are sure to be a hit this fall!
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12 Fine Motor Task Boxes$10.00
Fall Tree Craft For Preschoolers
This fall alphabet tree activity is an easy autumn craft.
It develops letter recognition and capital and lowercase letter discrimination.
This fall tree craft also helps with fine motor skill development.
Materials
- Red, yellow, orange, and brown construction paper
- large white construction paper
- Scissors or a Paper Cutter
- Glue
- Markers
Instructions
- Draw out a large tree shape on white construction paper.
- Then use a marker to randomly write lowercase letters of the alphabet all around the tree branches and trunk.
- Cut red, yellow, orange, and brown construction paper into strips.
- Use a marker to write uppercase letters onto the strips. Leave enough space between the letters for your preschooler to tear them apart.
- Invite your child to tear apart the letters to make "leaves".
- Then, match the leaves to the lower-case letters on the tree.
- Glue the matching uppercase letters to the corresponding lowercase letters. (Or if you'd like your little one to repeat this activity, save the leaves in a sandwich baggie to match again another day).
Notes
This is also a great fine motor activity! Invite more opportunities for tearing and ripping paper by giving your students additional colored paper and practice tearing it into smaller pieces.
With assistance, students will learn where to best place their hands on the paper (the top edge) to make tearing the easiest, and where to place the rest of their fingers while tearing (tucked into the palm).
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I’m Sarah, an educator turned stay-at-home-mama of five! I’m the owner and creator of Stay At Home Educator, a website about intentional teaching and purposeful learning in the early childhood years. I’ve taught a range of levels, from preschool to college and a little bit of everything in between. Right now my focus is teaching my children and running a preschool from my home. Credentials include: Bachelors in Art, Masters in Curriculum and Instruction.
