This adorable fall hedgehog craft is a fun way to celebrate the season while sneaking in plenty of coloring, cutting and fine motor practice. Kids simply color the printable leaves, cut them out and layer them onto their hedgehog to create the cutest set of colorful fall spikes!
Fall Hedgehog Craft for Kids
This adorable fall hedgehog craft is a simple autumn activity that’s perfect for preschool, kindergarten and early elementary kids. Children color, cut and layer colorful fall leaves onto the printable hedgehog template to create the cutest leafy little hedgehog!
I love fall crafts that are simple enough to make at home or in the classroom but still give kids plenty of opportunities to make them their own. This one checks all those boxes.
My printable template includes the hedgehog body plus two full pages of leaves. Kids can color the leaves in traditional autumn shades like red, orange, yellow and brown – or use any colors they want: before cutting them out and gluing them onto their hedgehog.
The result is a colorful leaf hedgehog craft that doubles as some really great fine motor practice.
Fall Hedgehog Craft
There is something about hedgehogs that makes them especially cute for fall crafting!
For this activity, instead of drawing or painting the hedgehog’s spikes, we’re creating them with layers and layers of colorful paper leaves.
Kids start by coloring their hedgehog and all the leaves included with the printable. Then, they’ll cut everything out and glue the leaves onto the hedgehog’s back.
I especially love that no two hedgehogs will look exactly the same. Kids can choose their own colors, arrange their leaves however they’d like and add as many layers as they want.
Quick tip: Encourage children to overlap their leaves instead of placing them in neat rows. The different directions and layers are what give this little hedgehog its wonderfully full, spiky appearance.
Why You’ll Love This Hedgehog Craft
This printable hedgehog craft is one of those easy fall activities that works in so many different settings. It’s a great choice for a fall classroom craft, preschool activity, homeschool lesson, daycare project or a quiet afternoon activity at home.
You’ll also love that:
🍂 It’s low prep. Print the template and gather some basic coloring and crafting supplies.
✂️ Kids get lots of fine motor practice. Coloring, cutting, positioning and gluing all work those important little hand muscles.
🦔 Every hedgehog is unique. Children can choose their own fall colors and decide how they’d like to arrange their leaves to create the spikes.
🍁 It’s perfect for fall. This is an especially fun craft for September, October and November.
📚 It pairs beautifully with books. Turn it into a simple hedgehog-themed literacy activity by reading a hedgehog picture book before you start crafting.
Supplies
You don’t need anything fancy to make this fall hedgehog craft. You’ll need:
- Printable hedgehog craft template – you can get a copy of the pdf file at the very bottom of this blog post
- White printer paper or cardstock
- Crayons, markers or colored pencils
- Child-safe scissors
- Glue stick or school glue
I used traditional fall colors for our leaves including lots of red, orange, yellow, peach and brown. But there’s absolutely no reason children need to do the same.
A purple and pink hedgehog? Go for it. Rainbow leaves? Absolutely.
Giving kids some control over the colors is an easy way to add a little creativity to a template-based craft.
How to Make a Fall Hedgehog Craft
Step 1: Print the Hedgehog Template
Start by printing the printable craft template.
The template comes with a hedgehog body and two pages of fall leaves, giving children plenty of leaves to create a nice full layer of spikes.
Regular printer paper works well, but you can also print the pages on white cardstock if you’d like the finished craft to be a little sturdier.
Step 2: Color the Hedgehog
Next, color the hedgehog body.
We used a light tan color for the body, black for the nose and a little pink for the cheek.
Kids can follow our example or choose their own colors.
Step 3: Color the Fall Leaves
Now comes one of my favorite parts!
Color all the leaves using different fall-inspired colors.
Try using a mixture of:
🍁 Red
🍂 Orange
🌻 Yellow
🤎 Brown
🧡 Peach or light orange
Using several shades makes the finished hedgehog especially colorful once all the leaves are layered together.
For younger children, you don’t need to worry about perfectly coloring inside the lines. This activity is meant to be fun, and all those little crayon and marker strokes give the finished craft plenty of kid-made charm.
Step 4: Cut Everything Out
Carefully cut out the hedgehog and colored leaves.
There are quite a few leaves to cut, which makes this a particularly good activity for children who are working on their scissor skills.
For preschoolers or children who aren’t ready to cut the smaller shapes independently, an adult can cut out some or all of the leaves ahead of time.
Step 5: Add the Hedgehog’s Leaf Spikes
Now it’s time to turn all those colorful fall leaves into hedgehog spikes!
Starting toward the back of the hedgehog, glue the leaves onto its body.
Let the leaves overlap and point in different directions. Continue adding more leaves, working your way toward the hedgehog’s head.
You don’t have to follow a specific pattern. In fact, I think this craft looks best when the leaves are layered somewhat randomly.
Keep adding leaves until the hedgehog’s back is nice and full.
Then, let your finished fall hedgehog craft dry completely.
Fine Motor Skills
This cute craft is also packed with opportunities for fine motor development.
Coloring the hedgehog and leaves helps children practice grasping and controlling crayons, markers or colored pencils. These small movements help strengthen the hands and fingers children eventually use for writing.
Cutting out the leaves provides even more practice. Children have to open and close their scissors while turning the paper and following the outline of each leaf.
Finally, picking up the individual paper leaves, positioning them and pressing them into the glue requires hand-eye coordination and precise finger movements.
So, while kids see a cute hedgehog craft, they’re also getting meaningful practice with skills they’ll use for writing, drawing, dressing themselves and completing other everyday tasks.
Learning Opportunities
You can easily extend this hedgehog craft for kids beyond cutting and gluing.
For preschool and kindergarten children, try asking them to sort their leaves by color before gluing them down.
You could also count the leaves, create simple color patterns or compare groups to see which color has more or fewer leaves.
Older children can practice describing their hedgehog or even write a short story about it.
Some simple prompts include:
Where does your hedgehog live?
What does your hedgehog like to eat?
What is your hedgehog’s name?
What is your hedgehog doing on this fall day?
These little extensions make it easy to turn a simple seasonal craft into a more complete learning activity.
Make It a Hedgehog-Themed Storytime
I love pairing a simple craft with a picture book, especially when I’m putting together a themed activity for preschool or kindergarten. These hedgehog books for kids would all be fun to read before or after making your fall hedgehog craft.
🦔 Hedgehog 1 2 3: Counting Picture Book for Kids Ages 0–5 : A cute choice for younger children that brings a little early math into your hedgehog theme. I especially like this one for preschoolers because you can follow storytime with the craft for an easy counting + fine motor activity.
🌙 Goodnight : A sweet hedgehog-themed choice to add to your storytime pile. This would work especially well for a quieter at-home craft session or as part of a gentle woodland animal theme.
💛 Our Friend Hedgehog: The Story of Us : A lovely story centered around Hedgehog and her friends, making it a nice way to bring themes of friendship and community into your activity. It’s a great option if you’re using this craft as part of a larger woodland animal unit.
🦔 Hedgehugs : This is such a cute pairing for our craft! It’s a sweet hedgehog story that’s especially fun for preschool and kindergarten storytime, and I love the idea of reading it before kids make their own colorful little hedgehogs.
📚 Read All About It! : A heartwarming picture book about a hedgehog and the importance of speaking up. It’s geared toward ages 4–8, making it a nice choice for kindergarten and younger elementary kids.
🍂 The Hedgehog Who Painted the Weather : The weather and magic theme makes this one especially fun to pair with a colorful art project. Read the story and then encourage kids to get creative with the colors they choose for their hedgehog’s leafy spikes.
You could read the story during circle time and then have children make their hedgehogs afterward. At home, read the book together and set up the craft at the kitchen table for an easy screen-free fall afternoon.
Classroom Ideas
If you’re making this fall hedgehog craft for preschoolers or kindergarteners, there are a few easy ways to adapt it for a group.
You can pre-cut the hedgehog bodies while allowing children to cut their own leaves. Or, for more advanced scissor practice, let children cut out everything themselves.
Another option is to color the leaves during one session and assemble the hedgehogs during another. This works especially well if your classroom craft time is short.
And these would make an adorable fall bulletin board!
Give the display a simple heading such as “We’re Falling for Fall!” or “Our Little Hedgehogs” and display all the different hedgehogs together.
Because every child chooses and arranges their own leaves, you’ll end up with a colorful collection of hedgehogs that all look a little different.
Try Using Different Art Supplies
Crayons and markers are the easiest option, but you can also change the activity by putting out different art supplies.
Try watercolor paints, dot markers, tempera paint sticks or colored pencils.
You could even print the leaf pages onto different shades of fall-colored paper and skip the coloring step entirely. This can be a great option when you’re making the craft with a larger group or younger children.
For extra texture, try printing the leaves on patterned scrapbook paper in fall colors. Plaids, polka dots and tiny autumn prints would make an especially fun version of this hedgehog.
More Ways to Use the Printable Hedgehog Template
You don’t have to limit yourself to paper leaves either.
Once you’ve printed the hedgehog body, there are lots of ways you can use it for another fall art activity.
Children could create the spikes with torn construction paper, fingerprints, tissue paper, painted paper, crumpled paper or even real leaves collected on a fall nature walk.
It’s an easy way to get several activities out of one basic hedgehog template.
Frequently Asked Questions
What age is this hedgehog craft best for?
This craft works especially well for preschool, pre-K, kindergarten and early elementary-aged children. Younger children may need help cutting out the leaves, while older children can complete most or all of the project independently.
Do I need cardstock?
No. Regular white printer paper works just fine. Cardstock is a good option if you want a sturdier finished hedgehog or plan to display the crafts on a bulletin board.
Can I prepare this craft ahead of time?
Absolutely. Print the templates ahead of time and organize each child’s pages into a set. For younger children, you can also pre-cut the hedgehog bodies so they can focus on coloring, cutting the leaves and assembling their craft.
Can we use real leaves?
Yes! If you’d like to turn this into a nature craft, use the hedgehog body from the printable and glue small real fall leaves onto its back instead. Just keep in mind that real leaves will eventually become brittle, so the paper version is better if you want to keep or display the finished craft for a long time.
More Fall Crafts and Activities for Kids
Looking for more ways to celebrate the beauty of the fall season? Here are some of my favorite fall crafts and activities for kids to pair with this fall hedgehog craft. They’re perfect for preschool, kindergarten, classroom craft time or a screen-free afternoon at home.
🍂 Torn Paper Fall Tree Craft – Kids tear colorful paper into small pieces before gluing them onto their tree. It’s a simple fall craft that’s especially good for strengthening fine motor skills.
🌰 Torn Paper Acorn Craft – Another easy torn paper activity that’s perfect for a fall or woodland theme. Tearing and gluing all those little pieces gives small hands lots of extra practice.
🌽 Paper Bag Corn Craft – Turn an ordinary paper lunch bag into a colorful ear of corn! This is a fun choice for a harvest, farm or Thanksgiving theme.
🎃 Paper Bag Pumpkin Craft – This cute pumpkin is easy to make with basic craft supplies and makes a great October classroom activity.
🍎 Paper Plate Apple Craft – A classic apple craft that’s perfect for back-to-school season and early fall. Add it to an apple unit or use it alongside your favorite apple-themed picture book.
🍁 Fall Leaf Puppet Craft – Kids can make their own colorful fall leaf character and then use it for pretend play or storytelling when they’re finished crafting.
🦔 Mosaic Hedgehog Craft – If your kids loved making this leafy hedgehog, try another hedgehog craft! This version uses small pieces of paper to create a colorful mosaic while working on cutting, gluing and fine motor skills.
🏈 Mosaic Football Craft – A fun fall craft for football season that gives children lots of practice cutting and positioning small pieces of paper.
🎃 Fall Name Crafts – Add a little name recognition practice to your fall crafting. This collection includes seasonal name crafts that are perfect for preschool and kindergarten.
🍁 Fall Bucket List for Kids – Need more screen-free ideas beyond crafting? Our printable fall bucket list is filled with simple activities your family can enjoy throughout the season.
Looking for even more ideas? Visit my Fall Crafts for Kids collection for lots of easy autumn crafts, printable activities and seasonal projects to keep little hands busy all season long.
Download Instructions
Ready to make your own fall hedgehog craft?
Download the free printable template, gather a few simple supplies, and enjoy an easy fall activity that’s perfect for preschool, kindergarten, homeschool, or the classroom.
To get the free printable fall hedgehog craft, simply fill out the download form at the very bottom of this post. Once you confirm your email, you’ll be redirected to the PDF download page. Already a subscriber? Re-enter your email for instant access.
Print as many copies as you need for your classroom or home.
Tip: Be sure to check your spam or promotions folder if you don’t see the email right away.
Still having trouble downloading our fall hedgehog craft? Check out this step-by-step download guide with images!
Download the Fall Hedgehog Craft Template
Ready to make your own fall hedgehog craft?
Download and print the fall hedgehog craft template, grab your favorite coloring supplies and let kids create their own colorful leaf-covered hedgehogs.
This is such a simple fall activity, but that’s exactly why I love it. It’s easy to prep, uses supplies you probably already have and gives kids plenty of opportunities to color, cut, glue and create.
Whether you’re making it during a preschool fall theme, adding it to a kindergarten craft center or looking for something fun to do at home, I hope your kids have just as much fun making their little hedgehogs as we did.
And if you’re always looking for more easy crafts and screen-free activities for kids, make sure to follow This Tiny Blue House on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest for lots more seasonal ideas, printable activities and kid-friendly crafts.
