It seems like the squirrels are already getting all the acorns where I live, but if you can save some from them (not too many; they’ve got to eat, too!) you can make some fun acorn crafts. Whether you do this at home or in a classroom, it’s a fun way to hang onto fall and make something pretty with natural materials.
I’ve never really done anything special with my acorns when we bring them inside, but if you want to make yours last for years, check out the tips at Staying Close to Home. If you want to just paint your acorns and leave it at that, this tutorial from Home Stories A to Z can help you there.
Of course an acorn, painted or not, is an obvious surface for a face (like on these acorn necklaces we shared a few years ago; the original site seems to be gone but I’ll bet you can get the idea from the photo of how to make your own).
And from adding a face it’s only a short journey to turning acorns into squirrels, like this adorable project from Toys in the Dryer. Or you can make acorn mice like these from Kids Craft Room. Use a pipe cleaner if you don’t have fuzzy yarn for the tail.
Or grab the googly eyes and some other materials and make a fun character with acorns, like these from Raising a Blessing. So cute!
Add a marble to an acorn cap to make a pretty necklace with instructions from Rhythms of Play. You could also just paint the caps separately and use them in projects, as hats for peg dolls or in other ways your kids are sure to come up with on their own.
You can also turn acorns into adorable toadstool mushrooms. Learn how from Twig and Toadstool.
How do you play and craft with acorns? I’d love to hear your ideas!
