This is such an amazing time of year for getting creative with kids and this collection of October crafts for toddlers and preschoolers shows just how many fun themes there are to be inspired by!
We’re sharing pumpkin crafts, Halloween crafts, bat and spider crafts and fall animal crafts all designed for younger kids with simple achievable ideas.
You’ll find low-prep activities and free printables to help you make them at home or in preschool or kindergarten and lots of ideas for simple ways to get creative.
What You'll Find on This Page
Easy October Crafts for Toddlers and Preschoolers
As a mom, October has always been a big month in our home for creativity. I think that Halloween is a huge opportunity to do something fun with your kids and no matter how young my kids were they were always desperate to get involved in the celebrations!
The October themes I’ve chosen reflect both Halloween crafts and other topics that I think are great for October, fall animals are really fun to create while bats and spiders work well with fall topics as well as Halloween. Likewise pumpkin crafts can be easily adapted for harvest topics or even Thanksgiving next month.
To get the tutorial for each of our October crafts for kids just click on the title of it.
As with all toddler and preschooler crafts you will need supervise your child throughout these activities, especially where scissors are being used or small parts like buttons or pom poms.
More Themes for October
Looking for even more inspiration for October? Why not try out one of these themes which would be a great choice for October too.
- Fire Safety
- Harvest
- Trees
- Space
- Acorns
- Owl and Nocturnal Animals
Free Printables for October Themed Activities
We have loads of free printables for kids which are perfect for younger children, you can use them as coloring pages or they’re ideal for trying out some easy crafts together.
Many of the ones I’m sharing here are ones that I’ve used to make the crafts below but you’ll also find some resources that I think would be great to use in October for a low-prep activity.
Pumpkins
Pumpkins are a fantastic theme for October because they’re so easy to adapt for both Halloween and fall crafts, especially with harvest being a big topic too.
Pumpkin Suncatcher
This cute pumpkin suncatcher is one that was made by my son when he was a preschooler and while it takes a little bit of adult preparation it’s one that I’d definitely recommend because it was such a popular activity and stayed displayed in our window for months!
Cutting the cellophane is a great way to support scissor skills and using red and yellow colors to create the orange of the pumpkin is an easy way to learn about color mixing too.
Pumpkin Dot Art
Make some simple dot art using dot markers or bingo markers with this pumpkin design that’s part of our fall dot marker printables set.
Button Pumpkin Craft
You’ll obviously need to ensure that you’re supervising your child throughout this activity but my toddler really enjoyed creating this pumpkin covered in buttons and it was a good way to support fine motor skills too.
Foil Painted Pumpkin Craft
Learn about color mixing with this easy craft that uses one of our free printables templates and foil for a fun alternative to using a paintbrush.
Looking for even more ideas? Check out our roundup of 24 easy pumpkin crafts for kids for loads more fun activities.
Halloween Crafts
These easy Halloween craft use basic materials that you probably already own and are simple enough for younger children to enjoy.
Easy Ghost Craft
This simple ghost craft is one of my favorites for spooky season and I’ve been sent loads of pictures of versions that have been made at home and in classrooms and preschools so I know that it’s truly tried and tested.
My absolute favorite thing about this is that there’s no ‘right’ way to make your ghost so if a bit of paint goes amiss it really doesn’t matter, in fact I think it can add to the finished painting!
Monster Paper Bowl Craft
We made this monster craft using a paper bowl because that’s what we had available at home but if you have paper plates instead then you can absolutely opt for those instead.
Again I love this Halloween craft because it’s so easy to adapt, your monster can be whatever color you like, you can make one eye or three, the list is endless and it’s a great way to encourage your child’s imagination.
Paper Bag Witch Craft
I love paper bag crafts because they’re perfect for imaginative play afterwards and your child can play with the witch that they’ve made, maybe you could even put a puppet show on.
Toddlers may not be able to cut out some of the shapes for this craft but they can help glue the pieces onto their paper bag and can draw on the witch’s face.
Candy Corn Craft
Tearing the tissue paper for this simple craft means that you don’t need to use scissors making it ideal for younger kids to create.
We’ve shared tons of Halloween inspiration so if you want to make sure that you do all the most fun spooky things this October then check out our round up of over 40 Halloween crafts for toddlers.
Bat and Spider Crafts
Both bats and spiders have simple, easily recognisable shapes that make them great for toddler crafts. They’re fun for Halloween activities and they fit well into wider fall themes too.
Silhouette Bat Craft
Create some spooky art using our bat template and colored paints to make this fun resist art. It’s super easy to make and as you can paint anywhere on the paper it’s ideal for little hands.
Scrunched Paper Spider Craft
I love both the sound and feel of scrunching tissue paper and I think it works really well to create the body of this easy spider craft.
We’ve cut colored paper to make the spiders legs which older children can help with or you can cut them out while younger kids glue them in place.
Mosaic Bat Craft
Use our free bat template to create this bat craft that’s a great way to support fine motor skills too.
Pom Pom Spider Craft
Painting using pom poms has been really popular here as it’s a good way to support your child’s pincer grip but if your kid doesn’t like getting their fingers covered in paint then you can easily adapt it to using a clothes peg to hold the pom pom.
Here we’ve used this technique to paint the spiders body for this cute and not-too-scary craft.
Fall Animal Crafts For Toddlers and Preschoolers
Celebrate fall with these easy animal crafts perfect for younger kids.
Fall Leaf Fox Craft
As October is right in the middle of fall it’s a great time to get outside and get exploring while you observe the changes in nature.
This craft uses one of our printable templates and fall leaves to make a cute fox and it’s the perfect excuse to grab your leaves as craft materials while you enjoy the great outdoors.
Handprint Hedgehog Craft
Handprint crafts make the absolutely best keepsakes and this cute hedgehog craft is not only perfect for fall but a good way to explore color mixing together.
Toilet Roll Owl Craft
Toilet roll crafts are a staple of many preschool and kindergarten activities and this low-prep craft uses toilet rolls stamped in paint to create the feathers on the owls wings.
Resist Art Squirrel Craft
This fun process art activity is a simple way to create a squirrel craft and a great excuse for using some fall colored paints too.
More Monthly Crafts for Toddlers and Preschoolers
This post is part of a series that I’ve been creating of themed crafts toddlers and preschoolers for every month of the year.
If you’d like some more inspiration for this season then why not check out our September crafts for toddlers and preschoolers with themes including acorns, fall leaves and scarecrows.
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