Autumn is the season of colour, and by far my favourite. I remember I used to go out of my way to step on a crunchy leaf, and for some reason it still brings out the child in me!

These activities have been created with young children and preschoolers in mind, but theyā€™re equally as satisfying for older age groups too (ahem, even really big kids at heart!). Theyā€™re easy and quick to put together and especially great for keeping those toddlers busy while you get something else done, or better yet, sit down and have a cuppa, or read that magazine you bought three weeks ago thatā€™s still sitting on the kitchen counter!

Contact Art

You will need:

• Clear contact
• Black card or brown paper, cut into a trunk and then some branch shapes.
• Homemade leaves (you could pre paint/fingerpaint some autumn colours with your child and cut it into leaf shapes)
• Or craft leaves from a variety shop
• Sticky tape

To beginā€¦ Cut some contact off the roll and round off the top. Then pull off the paper backing. Stick this (with the sticky side of the contact facing outwards) to a window, wall or sliding door with sticky tape on the edges (youā€™ll only need a little.)  Press on the trunk and branches!

Pop the leaves in a bowl and let your child enjoy adding them to the tree!

This activity is very easily adapted for other themes! You could make a basket instead of a tree and decorate with homemade cardboard glitter eggs for Easter, or a Christmas tree with round painted baubles or even a snowman made with cotton balls!

I found the autumn tree worked a charm, our leaves even fell off a few times which made it look like a real tree dropping leaves!

Sensory Zip Lock Art

You will need:

• Two pieces of coloured card
• One zip lock bag
• Sticky tape
• Red, Yellow, Orange and Brown paint

To beginā€¦

• Trace around a large leaf or freedraw and cut out the two pieces of card, so that they are the same. Itā€™s easiest to cut one and use that as a template for the other.
• Place small squirts of each paint colour in the zip lock bag and zip it shut.
• Place the bag in between the two pieces of card and tape the edges.
• Attach to a window with tape at the top and bottom.

Watch as your little one discovers the joy of mess free painting!

This activity can also be adapted to different themes. Easter eggs, trees, stars, suns, moonsā€¦ the ideas are endless!

HOT TIP: For crawlers, this is a brilliant activity to tape to the floor or high chair!

Broccoli Leaves

Every child loves to stamp, and for some reason using vegetables or fruit makes it extra fun! This activity is extremely quick to set up and will bring you much needed quiet time as your child enters that relaxation ā€˜zenā€™ mode whilst they paint! Bliss! Beware! It could get messy, so itā€™s a great one to do before a bath!

You will need:

• Large piece of paper
• Red, Yellow, Orange, Brown paint
• Broccoli
• Pencil or texta

The only prep required is to pop the paint on a paper plate or a palette (if you have one) Draw the tree trunk and branches. Then chop up the broccoli!

You may need to do a quick little demo to explain the activity to your child! Just dip the broccoli in the paint and add the pretty leaves to the tree!

Adaptation: If you donā€™t have broccoli you could also use cue tips, bubblewrap, fingerprints, toilet roll ends squashed into a leaf shape, flowers, cotton ball paintbrushes (cotton balls held by a peg)

This nostalgic little gem, nestled right by the beach, has all the essentials for a perfect family meal. Crispy fish and chips that taste like theyā€™ve been made the same way for decades, juicy burgers, classic milkshakes and of course, the iconic treat: ice cream! Whether you’re indulging in a boysenberry cone or any of your favourite flavours, thereā€™s nothing quite like being near the beach on a warm evening with the salty breeze and the sound of waves in the background.

The food is delicious at any time of day or night, with our favourites being fish and chips, burgers, cake, coffee, milkshakes and the scoops go with out saying. It’s well priced nosh and the serving sizes are generous.

The real charm of Largs Bay Kiosk, though, is its retro vibe. Itā€™s the kind of place where families gather, kids laugh and play and your feet can be sandy.

After your meal, take a relaxed stroll along the jetty to watch the boats drift by or, if youā€™re lucky, catch a glimpse of some dolphins. On our visit, we even saw kite surfers putting on an impressive show, adding to the postcard-perfect scenery.

For families with little ones, thereā€™s a new highlight, an ice cream-themed playground right next to the kiosk. Fully fenced and designed with safety in mind, itā€™s the perfect place for kids to burn off energy while you enjoy a drink in the shaded outdoor seating area. Watching the kids race around while you relax? Thatā€™s what summer memories are made of.

Eat indoors on the days that the weather is against you, or sit outside on the balmy beach days. We even like to take our hot chips and sit under the jetty!

Now we all know beaches can get busy in the warmer months, so if the car park is full, try parking the other side of the sailing club and enjoy the short stroll along the path.

Whether youā€™re grabbing a quick bite for lunch or spending the evening with loved ones, Largs Bay Kiosk offers a charming throwback to simpler times, where good food, good company, and good vibes are all that matter. A visit here is like stepping into a summer postcard youā€™ll never want to leave.

Location:Ā 1 Esplanade, Largs Bay, South Australia
Open Every Day 9.30am to 6pm
Phone:Ā (08) 8449 2580
Find them onĀ 

Bunny Ears…

You will need:

• Cardboard
• Glitter/textas/sparkly things!
• Scissors
• Craft Glue
• Paintbrush
• Hot glue gun
• Wool/string

Method:

• Cut out two bunny ear shapes and one long thin rectangle
• Let your child paint on the glue
• Decorate to hearts content (use anything! We used glitter (much to Daddyā€™s dismay as he had cleaned the floors the day before)
• Let dry
•  Use glue gun to stick the ears onto the rectangle (watch out itā€™s hot!)
• Get an adult to pierce holes in each side and tie on wool or string
• GET HOPPING!

Old School Spud Stamps

You will need:

• Paint
• Paintbrush
• Thick paper or cardboard
• Kitchen knife

Method:

Get and adult to cut out some simple shapes into a halved potato. Your child will love painting the stamp and pressing it onto the paper. Wait until the paint has dried and then cut out the egg shapes to decorate the house with! We used fluro paint and decided to decorate our back doors! They glow in the blue light of our fish tank at night

SPLATTER EGGā€¦

You will need:

• A tray with edges (I used an old cardboard box)
• Paint
• Something to move the paint with (we used a straw, you could use marbles, toy cars or a ball)
• Painting tape or strips of paper
• Thick paper
• Scissors

Method:

Cut out a large egg shape and lay in the tray. I used painters tape to create shapes on our egg. You could use strips of paper to form the patterns and stick it down on either side (this would avoid ripping your egg when itā€™s time to remove!)
Pop some blobs of paint straight onto the egg shape. Use your straw or other object to move the paint around. Children love to see the colours combining and creating patterns.
When the egg is completely covered, carefully remove the pattern paper or tape to expose the egg decoration!

Extension idea: Make two with larger edges and staple together when dry. Leave a space and stuff with tissue paper. Use to decorate your dining table or mantle piece! Or a lovely Easter present for Grandma if you pop a few eggs inside

ALFOIL EASTER EGGSā€¦

You will need:

• Cardboard
• Scissors
• Alfoil
• Sharpie textas

Method:

• Cut out cardboard eggs.
• Tear off your tin foil and lay your egg on top!
• Fold the edges so the front of the egg is completely covered.
• Leaving the lid on the texta, have your child draw designs all over the egg.
• When they are finished they can use the Sharpie markers to trace over their designs and add more detail.

Easter Egg Sun Catcher

You will need:

• Clear Contact
• Confetti/shredded colourful paper/easter egg wrappers
• Sticky tape

Method:

• Cut contact into an oval shape
• Carefully peel back the contact halfway and stick the top sticky side up on a table, then peel off the rest and stick the other end down too!
• Let your child decorate the egg by sticking colourful confetti or tissue paper down on the egg
• Shake off excess
• Cut a rectangular piece of contact and place it on top, sandwiching the decorated egg and leaving a sticky border so that you can attach it to a window or door!

Fork Chick

A really simple painting for children aged 2+ to achieve! You could even paint a few and place them around the house!

You will Need:

• Plastic fork
• Yellow paint
• Paper
• Black Texta/Crayon
• Red piece of paper or scrap
• Googly Eyes!

Method:

• Draw a circle for your child in yellow pencil
• Dip the fork into the paint and guide your child to paint inside the circle!
• Add the red beak and googly eyes
• Draw on chicken legs and feet!!!

Toilet Roll Bunnies

Another great use for all those toilet rolls everyone would have at the moment! Use them to print bunnies! So quick and fun!

You will need:

• White paint
• Green paint or crayon
• Cotton buds
• Black texta/pencil/charcoal
• Pink pencil/crayon/paint
• Glue
• 3 toilet rolls
• Coloured paper (we only had blue but pink would look great!)

Method:

• Start by squashing two of the toilet rolls together to make ears!
• Tape or glue them to the other round roll
• Dip your bunny stamp into the white paint
• Start stamping
• Get your child to add green grass for the bunnies to jump in with the cotton buds
• Add bunny faces with the black
• Add a bit of pink in the ears

*You could also add easter eggs in the grass by doing thumb prints in different coloured paint!

B is for Bunny

You will need:

• Coloured paper
• Cotton Balls
• Pencil or white charcoal
• Glue
• Googly eyes (you can draw eyes too!)
• Cotton buds for gluing

Method:

• Draw a B!
• Demonstrate how to use the cotton bud to put glue on the lines of the B!
• Pop on a cotton ball!
• Cover the whole thing!
• Add a cute face

*We made ears by tracing little hands and adding some pink, but you could also make regular shaped bunny ears and glue them to the top!

Some more quick and easy Easter Craft Ideas

Dyed Eggs

This one was pretty easy. Grab some eggs, boil them, then put them into food colouring with a drop of vinegar. We drew our initials and some patterns on the eggs with white crayon first to add extra effect. This was a more parent-oriented activity with the kids choosing the colours they wanted their eggs, and doing the crayon part. Obviously the hot water and food colouring was an adult responsibility. The more food colouring the more vibrant the eggs will be.

Hereā€™s a link the might be helpful: 

Popstick Chicks

These were easy and fun! Glue, colourful feathers, popsticks, googly eyes, coloured paper and you’re done! My kids made many more that were less chicken-coloured, but this photo shows the more traditional ones!

Bunny Butts

This craft idea is from and is simple and quick. We wrote on ours and will give them to grandparents on Sunday for Easter (lucky grandparents! Haha.)

Balloon Bunny

No explanation needed for this one! Weā€™ve had a whole family of balloon bunnies in our lounge room this week!

Some other ideas!

*In keeping with a hopping theme, how about drawing a chalk hop scotch game on the driveway!
*Make a cardboard cut out of bunny feet and use the good old powder to create some bunny magic!
*Take the top off a real egg, empty it out, refill with flowers or confetti, food colouring and water. Stand upright and freeze. When frozen, take off the shell to reveal a beautiful painting egg! Pop some paper in an oven tray and let it slither and slide, creating a beautiful Easter egg painting!

Happy Easter from our family to yours!

SNOWFLAKE DECORATIONS

You will need:

• Paper
• Scissors

Method:

Start with a square. Fold in half to make a triangle, then fold the points upwards (check picture for reference) Then draw the snowflake design and cut out!

Make a few in different sizes and decorate a wall or door!

SNOWMAN SURPRISE

You will need:

• Clear contact
• Scissors
• Coloured card (or an old cereal packet you can cut up and colour)
• Either old lace doily from an op shop, cotton balls or white paper

Method:

This one is really simple but kept my three year old entertained for quite some time and she was thrilled with the result.

Simply draw the snowman shape on the contact. Cut out and peel off backing. Stick to door or wall by folding over a couple of centimeters at the top and bottom.

Let your child decide what accessories the snowman will have. If they can draw and cut them out by themselves, give them ownership of their artwork. My three year old drew the circle buttons, the lines on the carrot and the shape of his smile and I cut them out for her.

HANDY ANZAC WREATHS!

You will need:

• Up to 20 paper plates
• Some green card or paper (or collect real leaves or greenery that can be glued)
• Glue stick or glue and brush + scissors
• Red and black paint + paint brushes

Method:

Cut the centre out of one paper plate – this will make a donut shaped template to stick your poppy hands and leaves onto. Generously paint your hand red and print it into the middle of a paper plate. Repeat for as many ‘poppies’ as you’d like (we made about 14). Pop black dots in the middle of the palm print, representing poppies. Allow them to dry and then cut out the hand prints. Draw and cut some green card for leaves, or collect some leaves or greenery from out doors. Glue the hand prints and leaves around the donut template to create yoru wreath. Hang it on the wall, your door ot fence, or take it to place at your local war memorial.

POOL NOODLE POPPIES!

You will need:

• A little piece of pool noodle
• Red, Black and Green paint
• White paper, card stock, cardboard or canvas
• Leaves

Method:

So simple! Dip the noodle into the red paint and print your poppies wherever you like. Next, paint the back of a leaf in green and print the leaf sporadically in between the poppies. Last, have your child dip their fingers in the black paint and fill in the middle of each poppy! Voila! A beautiful artwork to pop out the front of your house for ANZAC Day.

PAPER PLATE POPPIES

You will need:

• Paper plates
• Red and Black paint
• Scissors
• Pool Noodle/fingers

Method:

Get a big person to cut four triangle shapes around the plate. Fill in the entire plate with red paint, and then either use a spare pool noodle piece or fingers to print the idle with black!

These can be stuck to a stick, or wooden spoon and stuck out in the lawn to create our own memorial gardens.

MINI MEDALS

You will need:

• Paper plates/cardboard
• Oil pastels/crayons/paint/pencils/textas (or a mixture of all)
• Scissors
• Sticky Tape
• Coloured Card

Method:

Draw a variety of medal shapes in the centre of the paper plate. Get your child to colour or decorate each medal. Cut each coloured medal out. Get your child to decorate the piece of card you will attach the medal to. Stick the medal to the card. We then used some streamers we had lying around to be able to wear them or you could use a safety pin.

Extension Ideas: If you have school aged children you could take each of these activities further by having them research ANZAC Day. You could literally cover each curriculum area just with this one subject.

Maths ā€“ research the number of soldiers etcā€¦
Science ā€“ look at the terrain and environment they were in, how did it affect their health?
Art ā€“ What wartime posters were created and why? Can you design one too?
HASS ā€“ What dates did the war commence and end. Where was it? What countries were involved?

There are many resources you can find online, from poppy templates to hundreds of other art ideas. There are some great ones for creating wreathes from garden cuttings and door decorations, making poppies from egg cartons.

We hope you and your loved ones enjoy commemorating ANZAC Day, to pass down the importance of it to our kids is something we can all be proud of this year, even if we canā€™t get to our local RSL. We will all be there in the spirit.

Hand print bouquet

You will need:

• Paper or card stock
• Paint
• Texta

Method:
Draw a pot and some lines coming out. Paint your childā€™s hand and print to create flowers!
Write a nice message for mum or get your child to write or draw something at the bottom.
This can be turned into a card by folding in half or leave as is!

Daffodil Wish

You will need:

• Paper
• Paint
• Texta

Method:
Draw a stem and a dot at the end. Then draw lots of lines coming out of the dot. Get your child to dip their finger in the paint and print on the end of each line. This creates a daffodil. Write ā€˜Make a Wishā€™ on the bottom!
This could be a nice card front also!

Woven Hearts

You will need:

• Cardboard
• Wool/String
• Cue tips/straw to create a needle
• Scissors

Method:
Cut out a heart shape. Pierce holes around the heart. Crate a needle by tying the wool on your cue tip and cutting off one end. Get your child to sew around the heart. Young children will need assistance but can happily pull through the wool. This is a great activity to practice hand/eye coordination and fine motor skills!
Write a message for mum in the middle or get your child to draw a funny picture of mums face!

Funny Card Quiz

Instead of writing the same message that Mum getā€™s every year, why not interview your child about Mum and write the answers in the card! This could be hilarious!
Here are some ideas!

1. My Mum is _________ years old.
2. My Mum weighs ______________.
3. My Mumā€™s favourite color is _______________.
4. My Mumā€™s favourite food is ________________.
5. My Mum always says _________________________________.
6. My Mum cooks the best _______________________________.
7. My Mumā€™s job is ______________________________.
8. My Mum laughs when _________________________________.
9. If Mum had more time she would love to _________________________.
10. My Mum and I like to _________________________________.
11. My Mum really loves _________________________.
12. I love my Mum because _______________________.

Hand print keepsake

Baby handprints are especially special to print and frame. If this is your Mumā€™s first Mothers Day, this will be an extra special gift that she will treasure forever.
IDEAS ā€¦.

• Take the kids out and leave Mum at home, maybe she can read a book sheā€™s been wanting to read for three years!
• Plan a SPA DAY! Face mask, bubble bath, candles VOILA!!!
• Plan a picnic at home!
• Candle light dinner (so simple, make dinner, light candles!)
• Let Mum sleep in!
• Organise a menu for a Motherā€™s Day Room Service breakfast!

We hope your Motherā€™s Day is relaxing, even if you just take the lap top for a drive to the beach, grab a coffee and watch a couple of episodes of that Netflix show you love, in peace!

Gosh! Reading this, I think every day should be Motherā€™s Day!!!
Enjoy xxx

Cool Colour Process Art ā€“ Frozen Themed

An art study in process and texture, I chose a cool colour theme to inspire imaginative play based on a love of Elsa. But, you could easily adapt this to suit something your child is into. For example, if they loved The Incredibles, you could choose warm reds, oranges and yellows instead.

Putting some boaundaries around the painting activity creates a sense of ā€˜challengeā€™ and increases the likelihood of your child being inspired for a longer period of time!

Painting is an important part of self expression and colour exploration, and if youā€™re home schooling at the moment can easily be linked with most of the curriculum.

Here are my top tips:

• Any student acrylic paint is great.
• Use an egg carton as a pallet
• If you donā€™t have a canvas you could flatten a large cardboard box, or if youā€™d like mess free you can use a plastic underbed storage container or old baby bath! Get them to paint on the plastic, and then you can make prints onto paper of anything that looks special!
• Add music. See what happens when you speed up or slow down the song!
• Chat with your child about warm vs cool colours.
• What season they represent.
• What other things they can find around the home in these colours, this could lead to a scavenger hunt!
• Sing a rainbow song!
• Paint using household objects. I found old bankcards and business cards worked well, easy for little hands to hold too! You could also print with veggies, toy cars or cut up kitchen sponges!

This painting activity can go on for days. I encouraged my two year old to add new layers each time it dried, and the result was (in her words) ā€œa masterpiece!ā€

OCEAN SOAP FOAM

Mix together some soap, water, cornstarch and blue food colouring in a blender until itā€™s nice and thick!
Pour into an oven tray and let your children play! I added some plastic fish and bath toys to make it look real!
TIP: Wear bathers and rinse off under the sprinkler afterwards!

CHEERIO THREADING

A snack and a game in one! I know my mum used to tell me not to play with food, but hey, times are tough!
Just place a blob of playdough on a table or highchair. Poke in a couple of pieces of spaghetti and a pile of cheerios or fruit loops on the side. Let your child thread them on!

QUIET BINS

Pre prepare some baskets, for when your child needs some quiet, self-directed play. Here are three ideas:

• Dip each end of a bunch of pop sticks (or cut up cardboard) in three different paint colours (or if you donā€™t have paint you could colour in the ends) Then draw a variety of shapes in texta on paper. Let your child match the popsticks end to end as they follow the shape.
• Cotton balls and tonka trucks. Earth moving roleplay at itā€™s finest!
• Pipecleaners and Pasta. Fashion and twist the pipecleaners together to make a tree. Then pop these in the basket with pasta and let your child thread the pasta onto the tree branches.
  The ideas are endless for Quiet Bins.

BOPPING BAUBLES

Grab out those Christmas baubles!
Fill one bowl or deep tray with water and leave another empty. Young children will delight in using a ladle to scoop out the baubles back and forth!
Extension ideas:
Science ā€“ Floating and sinking
Maths ā€“ Count the baubles as theyā€™re collected, simple addition and subtraction games.

POM POM RACE

Create a track on your floor using masking tape.
Using a small pom pom and a straw, see if your child can blow the pom pom along the track!

HANDPRINT RAINBOW PAINTING

So easy!
Paint your childs hand with different coloured horizontal stripes!
Press onto white paper in a rainbow shape!

GROSS MOTOR DICE GAME

If you can, make two cardboard or paper dice.
On one write a set of actions, such as point, jump, spin etcā€¦
On the other write some body parts, such as leg, arm, hand, head!
Throw the dice and match the action to the part, such as spin arms!!!
If you donā€™t feel like making dice, just write a list and use a set from a boardgame or check out the

SCAVENGER HUNT

This one is so simple but will keep your child busy for a while!
Colour in a set of squares, in varying colours on a white sheet of paper.
Challenge your child to find an object around the house in each colour!

ICE PAINT

Prepare an ice cube tray with different colours of food dye mixed with water and stick a pop stick in each one as a handle.
When frozen, tip out and paint! So much fun! A little messy so this one is great to do in an empty bath if stuck inside!

VAN GOGH (TIN FOIL) ART

Painting on tin foil with cotton buds is a great activity, not too messy, and helps children work on those fine motor skills.
Keep paint selection to just one or two colours, Iā€™d suggest a primary and a white.
The end result will be reminiscent of Starry Night if you use blue and white (with a hint of yellow!)

NO MESS SPLATTER PAINTING

How on earth could I include the words ā€˜no messā€™ and ā€˜splatter paintingā€™ in the same sentence?
Easy!
Curl a piece of white paper in a large round (jar like) plastic container with a lid.
Pour in a few blobs of colour and pop the lid on, as well as some music!
Let your child shake it and themselves, till they can shake no more!
Voila! Unravel to reveal a special abstract!

GERM PAINTING

Sounds ominous! But it might be a great way to start a conversation about the need for us all to wash our hands!
Simply pop down some white paper and dot some paint blobs around in different colours.
Let your child blow the paint through a straw in different directions!
When dry add some black texta dot eyes or even googly eyes if you have them!!!
This can lead to a lovely little organic conversationā€¦!

CLAUDE MONET ā€˜JAPANESE FOOTBRIDGEā€™ FINGER PAINTING

Iā€™ve definitely saved the best for last, as this is one of my go to activities when introducing young children to famous artists!

You will need:

• White paper
• Paint
• TAPE (that will peel off paper)

Simply tape a bridge shape onto the paper, set up the paint on a paper plate pallet and let your child fill the page with fingerprint dots!
Before it dries, peel off the tape and you will be left with a very Monet inspired work of art!
HOT TIP: I would begin this activity by having a little search online of Monetā€™s art. There are many resources available for parents, especially if you add the words ā€˜teaching resourcesā€™ or ā€˜lesson plansā€™ into your keyword search!

Happy ā€˜artingā€™ everyone!