Fall is here, and for many that means changing leaves, pumpkin-flavored-everything, and Trick-or-Treating adventures on a brisk fall night.

Children are always excited to pick out a costume and play in the leaves—and we’re willing to bet there are more than a few of us parents who are excited to live vicariously through their excitement (and stockpile candy).

This transitional season is a great chance to teach children new lessons while also giving them fun activities to stay entertained. Here are some fall activities children will love and learn from. (Don’t be surprised if they want to do these in winter, too!)

Make a “Magic” Leaf Rubbing

This is a classic most adults have tried! Have a child search for a fallen leaf they like and place it underneath a piece of paper. Then, they should color over the leaf and see its lines “transfer” onto the paper. Have your child do this with leaves of different shapes and sizes to compare. You can also try different types of paper— wax paper, foil, tracing paper—to have them experiment with different textures.

Plant a Pumpkin

This clever idea and spin on traditional pumpkin carving comes from JDaniel4sMom. You begin by cutting open the top of the pumpkin and gutting it, just as you would when carving a pumpkin. Make sure you keep the seeds! Place some holes into the bottom of the pumpkin to drain the water. You can then fill it with potting soil and plant the seeds within the pumpkin.

Create Your Own Friendly, Foamy Ghost

The author of Three Ghost Friends, Eric VanRaepenbusch, created this super-fun activity based on the “Elephant Toothpaste Experiment” for his children. All you need is a large plastic container that’s ghost-shaped (mayo containers work well), hydrogen peroxide, dry active yeast, warm water, and liquid dish soap. Once you’ve combined according to directions, watch your friendly ghost come to life! This is a perfect educational demonstration about the properties of foam, and it’s great for Halloween festivities.

Count with Candy

There are two kinds of people in the world: those who love candy corn, and those who don’t. Regardless, try using candy corn to teach younger children how to count! Cut out some brown and green construction paper to create the husks with your child (try our KraftEdgers scissors for fancy edges), then tape them to a cookie sheet. Write a number on each husk, and invite your child to count out the candy corn and place the correct number on each. For detailed directions, click here.

If your child is older, try having them sort their candy by type after a night of trick-or-treating, and tally how much they have of each type! Kids love to share how much loot they got, and they’ll sharpen their counting skills at the same time.

Hop with Corn

Speaking of corn, here’s another activity related to the fall favorite! Just take a clear glass container, fill the jar with water (and add food coloring if desired), add baking soda, then a small handful of popping corn kernels. The final ingredient? Vinegar. Once that’s added, the corn will hop up and down like jumping beans! This is a fantastic illustration of the way that CO2 bubbles form to lift the corn kernels to the surface, where they pop and return to the bottom. Read this post for all the details.

Play with Puppets

Fall weather can get gloomy or rainy fast. But that doesn’t mean the fun has to end! Gather your kids and their friends for a fun afternoon of puppetry with a state-of-the-art Puppet Theater. Not only will the kiddos sharpen their acting skills, but you can have them write out the scenes if they’re old enough, and foster their creativity and teamwork skills. Check out all of ECR4Kids’ offerings for dramatic play.

There are so many great ways to sharpen your child’s learning skills while having fun this fall! If you’re looking for more fun ways to boost your child’s motor, social, and educational abilities, ECR4Kids has got you covered. Check out some of our fun active play sets, blocks, and even book displays to encourage reading during the colder months!