50+ Autumn Facts Kids Will Love in 2025 | Free PDF
Updated March 1, 2025
Young children encounter the magic of autumn from September through November in the Northern Hemisphere. For some, it will be the first time in their lives. These experiences are going to last them a lifetime. And these autumn facts will help them connect to the wonder.
If frigid wind and rain force you indoors, these autumn facts are still the perfect companion for children’s books on the fall favorites book list. I hope parents and educators can use this list to expand children’s learning and understanding of the autumn season.
Interesting & Fun Autumn Facts
The autumn season goes by three different names: fall, autumn, and harvest.
Americans call autumn fall because of the leaves falling from trees.
Autumn is sometimes called harvest or harvest season because farmers are harvesting the fields.
Superstition says that catching a falling leaf is good luck.
There is less sunlight during autumn, so days are shorter and nights are longer.
The Autumn Equinox marks the start of fall. Autumn lasts until the Winter Solstice in December.
The sun rises perfectly in the east and sets perfectly in the west on the Autumn Equinox.
The Southern Hemisphere and Northern Hemisphere have opposite seasons. That means autumn starts in March in the Southern Hemisphere.
People who live near the equator don’t have an autumn season. The temperature stays almost the same all year.
The harvest moon happens around the Autumn Equinox. Its bright moonlight helped farmers harvest crops before there was electricity.
In autumn, the weather cools down. This is why it is called “sweater weather.”
A medieval tradition inspired Trick-or-Treating. People would dress up in spooky costumes and do fun performances for treats. The spooky costumes were also thought to confuse demons and keep them away.
Scarecrows have been used for thousands of years to protect crops.
Autumn can bring the first frost. This is when water in the air settles across the ground and freezes. A frosty morning gives us a glimpse of how pretty the upcoming winter weather will be.
Acorns are fruit from oak trees and contain a single seed. They start falling in September and October.
Autumn Animal Facts
Animals change their behavior in autumn to get ready for winter.
Animals that hibernate like bears, bats, skunks, chipmunks, and groundhogs will eat lots of food. The extra fat on their bodies keeps them warm and gives them energy.
In autumn, snakes look for dens to live in during winter. Different types of snakes will even share a den to stay warm.
Furry animals will grow thicker fur in autumn to keep them warm through winter. This is called their winter coat.
Bees are busy in the fall. They need to make and store enough honey for winter.
Monarch butterflies will migrate from the United States to Mexico in autumn.
During autumn, you may notice more spiders, and they may seem extra big. That’s because the baby spiders who hatched in spring have grown up. Autumn is their mating season, so spiders are more active and scampering about.
Owls hoot louder in the fall while searching for a place to nest during winter.
When squirrels are hiding nuts for winter, their brains get bigger. This helps them remember where they hide their food.
All the hidden nuts that squirrels can’t find help forests regrow.
In autumn, bodies of water start to cool down. Fish can start exploring areas of water that were too warm all summer.
Birds migrate to warmer places in autumn. They migrate because cold weather means no seeds or insects for them to eat.
Autumn Leaves Facts
There is a special name for trees that lose their leaves in fall. They are called deciduous trees.
Leaves are green because of the chemical chlorophyll. Leaves get less sun in autumn and stop making chlorophyll.
In autumn, the leaves finally turn into their real colors. The real colors hide behind the green in spring and summer.
Autumn leaves are also different colors because of sugar. Sugar from the tree gets trapped in leaves. More sugar means brighter red and purple colors.
Fall leaf colors come from the same pigments that make vegetables different colors, like orange carrots.
Climate change harms leaves too. If it stays too warm, they don’t change colors as early.
Spending time around trees is good for you. Spend time looking at the pretty autumn leaf colors or stepping on crunchy dry leaves.
The fallen dead leaves on the ground help protect seeds through the winter. They also help protect underground bee nests.
Learn about bursting branches and more crazy winter tree facts.
Autumn Food Facts
We use pumpkins to celebrate autumn. Many people love to eat pumpkin pie, visit pumpkin patches, carve pumpkins, and smell pumpkin-spice scents.
Many favorite fall fruits have a lot of air. This is why pumpkins, apples, and cranberries will float.
Pumpkins are a type of squash, and all squash are fruit. That means pumpkins are actually fruit.
Apples are harvested in late summer and early autumn, making them a favorite fall fruit.
Pumpkins grow from flowers.
Cranberries are another favorite fall fruit. To harvest cranberries, farmers flood the cranberry field. Special equipment stirs the water and knocks the berries off the vine. Then the cranberries float to the surface.
You can eat pumpkin seeds!
One gallon of apple cider needs as many as 40 apples.
Autumn Tradition Facts
Autumn Equinox happens around September 22nd and marks the start of days becoming shorter than nights.
The Hindu Festival of Lights, Diwali, celebrates in October or November for gatherings by loved ones around food and fireworks.
Indigenous People’s Day celebrates and honors Native American people and everything they have contributed to American culture.
Halloween started as an ancient celebration of the end of the harvest season.
Carving jack-o’-lanterns started with an Irish tradition of carving turnips or potatoes. Irish immigrants brought the tradition to America.
The first Thanksgiving lasted three days. The first Thanksgiving was to celebrate the pilgrim’s first successful corn harvest.
Dia de Los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead, is from October 31st to November 2nd. The purpose is to honor loved ones who have died.
I hope that somewhere in this list of fun autumn facts for kids, you found the perfect conversation starter for your child or classroom. These fun fall facts should help prepare you and your child to learn and explore the autumn season.
If you share any of these with your child, please comment and share any adorable, hilarious, or brilliant ways they responded.
my favorite autumn season is halloween