Fall Pom Pom Tree -- Fine Motor Activity

This fall pom pom tree activity is as pretty as it is fun! I think it could even work as a combination kids’ activity and centerpiece at Thanksgiving dinner. My favorite part is the acorns — they look so cool in the tree, plus they add so much to activity by presenting an added challenge to fine motor skills and a tactile contrast to the light, fluffy pom poms. Like our Halloween Carnival Pom Pom Trees, the autumn tree can be added to train layouts or other small worlds.

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Seasonal Pipe Cleaner and Pom Pom Trees

Cherry Blossom Spring Pom Pom Tree
Pipe Cleaner Pine Trees
Summer Pom Pom Tree
Pipe Cleaner and Pom Pom Palm Tree
Apple Harvest Pom Pom Tree
Fall Pom Pom Tree
Spooky Pipe Cleaner Trees
Halloween Carnival Colors Pom Pom Trees
Pipe Cleaner Christmas Trees
Light-up Pipe Cleaner Christmas Trees
Snow and Ice Winter Pom Pom Trees

To set up the activity, you’ll first need to make a pipe cleaner tree. I made this one in fall colors the same way I made the spooky pipe cleaner trees I wrote about in October, only this time I used brown 3 mm pipe cleaners. (The super thin 3 mm pipe cleaners are hard to find in the regular craft stores, but some of the big variety packs of pipe cleaners include them, so look through a few packs to see if you can find them.) I also incorporated some red, orange, and yellow ones.

Once you have the tree, put it in the center of a wide, shallow dish or bowl and arrange the acorns and pom poms around it. You might want to put a pom pom or two in the tree to indicate how a child might want to use the materials.

That’s pretty much it! As simple as it was, this one was really fun to play with. Being both heavy and slippery, the acorns have a tendency to slip through the branches and fall, where as the pom poms cling to the pipe cleaners. This is definitely a fun and creative way to play with scientific concepts like gravity, weight, and texture.

When we put the tree in our Halloween train layout, I also incorporated the leaves we punched out of construction paper with a decorative leaf punch. They added even more variety to our exploration of how to get different types of objects to stay up in the tree. Being small, they were prone to falling through, but their lightness and shape also allowed them to get caught in the branches.

Looking for more creative train activities for YOUR kids?

Grab a copy of Old Tracks, New Tricks! In the fun, rhyming story, three creative little wooden train tracks stand up to the bossy trains and teach the whole train set that old tracks — and trains! — can learn new tricks. Full instructions for the 20+ “track-tivities” in the story are included in the back of the book, along with an illustrated guide to teach kids how to create their own “track tricks.” You can find tons of extension activities at the Old Tracks, New Tricks website!