19 Fall Process Art Activities for Preschool, Pre-K, and Kindergarten

Fall process art activities are so fun for little learners to create with their warm colors and adorable themes that I have gathered some of my favorites! Keep reading for 19 fall process art activities hand-picked for preschool, pre-k, and kindergarten students.

So, what’s the difference between process art and product art? Process art is open-ended. The focus of the activity is to use various mediums and create a piece of art for the purpose of expression. Product art is a craft that has a set of instructions and requires the final product to replicate a given design. Both kinds of art are important in the classroom, I believe.

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Collage Fall Process Art Activities

Leaf Collage! Pour glue into a plastic container with plastic paintbrushes so students can put glue on their leaves easily. Remember to put the lid on at the end of the day. I like to use this instead of glue sponges or glue bottles. Use any craft supplies you have and cut them up for collage: ribbon, material, pipe cleaners, tissue paper. You can do it with any fall foam or felt shape, like pumpkins or apples, too. 

Pumpkin Shape Collages! I used a foam pumpkin and foam shapes for this fall process art activity. Students glued the shapes onto the pumpkin using the glue and paintbrush method mentioned above.  I don’t love using a glue stick for these foam shapes because they just don’t hold well. This is a great way to practice spatial reasoning and shape identification!

Torn Paper Apple! You can make torn paper apples, pumpkins, or leaves. I use paper plates and you can pick the small or large plates for your students. I pre-tear paper strips, so students just tear the strips into pieces to attach to their project. Talk about a wonderful fine motor skills activity!

Leaf Rubbing Collage! Go on a nature walk to gather real leaves or use fake leaves to create these fall art projects with leaves. I love using natural materials in the classroom. Lay the leaves under the white paper and use different colors of crayons on their sides to rub and color over the leaves to create a beautiful fall masterpiece. 

Painting Fall Process Art Activities

Leaf Spin Art! Print some FREE leaf shapes and place one inside a salad spinner. Add a few drops of paint to the leaf and put the lid on. Spin the spinner and watch the paint move, and design the leaf. I use a cheap salad spinner from Target. This is so much fun for kids of all ages!

>>Grab the FREE fall leaf printable template by filling in the form at the bottom of the post!<<

Paint Blowing Art! Help students develop oral strength with this fantastic, fun fall activity. Drop washable paint onto a piece of construction paper and give students a straw. They will blow through the straw to move the paint around to create beautiful fall artwork.

Fall Colors Dropper Art! Color code cups and droppers because the liquid watercolor looks the same in the cups (use tape if you only have plain droppers). Students use the droppers to drop color onto a paper towel or coffee filters. The color spreads and blends together to create a beautiful fall color collage.

Acorn Rolling Painting! Grab a box lid, some acorns (real or fake, but be aware of small bugs in real acorns), some paint, and paper. Tape the paper inside the box lid. Then, put the paint into cups with the acorns. Use a spoon to scoop the acorns and some paint out and place it on the paper. Then, move the box around to roll the acorns all over the paper. This is a fun way to strengthen upper body strength and core muscles. 

Apple Rolling Painting! Grab a box lid, some apples (real or fake), some paint, and paper. Tape the paper inside the box lid. Then, put drops of paint onto the paper and place the apples inside the box. Then, move the box around to roll the apples all over the paper. This makes fun fall crafts with a different end result for all young kids. If you don’t have acorns or apples around, you can use pine cones to try rolling art in different ways. 

Fall Process Art Prints

Fall Cookie Cutter Prints! Gather some fall colors of paint and cookie cutters. Students will place the cookie cutter in the paint and stamp it onto a paper. I just love this simple, fall-themed art project for preschool, pre-k, or kindergarten students.

Pumpkin Printing! Use the top of a pumpkin to create a wonderful fall process art activity for little learners. The stem makes the perfect handle for 2-5 year olds to stamp with. Keep reading for more pumpkin crafts for little kids. 

Fall Flower Prints! Use real or fake fall flowers stamped in paint to create a fall flower print. This is a great activity to talk about textures with your young children.

Apple Prints! To create these apple prints, I used a foam cylinder (wash while the paint is wet and you won’t ruin your shapes) from my shapes set and stamped them around the paper. These are just the right size for little hands. Once they dry, use a marker to draw the stems. 

Pumpkin Patch Mixed Media Project! Begin by drawing the vines of the pumpkin patch. I used paint sticks, but use whatever media you would like. Create another fun painting prop by clipping a pom pom with a clothespin. Students use the pom pom to stamp pumpkins on their paper. Use different-sized pom poms to create a variety of pumpkins in your patch.

Fall Tree Prints! Paint and stamp the students’ hand and arm to create the tree trunks. Then, let them use their fingers to create the fall leaves falling from the trees. I love fall leaf crafts that are simple and quick for the preschool teacher. 

Still Life Fall Process Art Ideas

Sunflower Still Life! Use real or fake sunflowers and place them in a vase in the middle of the table. Students will observe and draw/paint what they see. This is a great art activity to talk about the different shapes that make up items to simplify trying to draw them. The middle is a brown circle, add yellow ovals for petals, some petals are pointy, etc.

Pumpkin Still Life! Set out some pumpkins and give your students the opportunity to create a pumpkin still life. Students draw what they see and observe.

Apple Still Life! Place liquid watercolor into cups, and students use the paint to fill in their apple still life drawings. You can use real or fake apples and other mediums to create a beautiful art project.

I hope you love these fall process art activities as much as I do! Grab your lesson plans and pick your favorites to try out with your students. Remember, process art is about the students exploring and learning about art and mediums, and the final project may not look like what you wanted. Now that you have tons of fall art ideas, check out these other helpful links!

Need more fall ideas for the classroom? Check out this post with 17 fall butcher paper activities!

Grab the FREE play dough tray guide for over 50 play dough tray ideas for the whole year!

Want to see these fall process art activities in action? You can find the video here!

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