Cosy Hedgehog Activities for Kids – A Lovely Way to Start Autumn

There’s something so magical about the start of Autumn, isn’t there? The air feels a little crisper, the leaves start crunching under our boots, and nature is full of treasures waiting to be explored. It’s the perfect season to slow down, gather some bits from outdoors, and create with our little ones.

And what better creature to inspire us than the hedgehog? With their prickly spikes and sleepy hibernation habits, hedgehogs are just the sweetest way to bring Autumn into our learning.

I put together a little hedgehog study inspo for you, packed with crafts, simple play ideas, and even a bit of maths practice (the fun kind!). I’ve also made some free printables and included our favourite links to educational prints to help you along the way.

1. Playdough Hedgehogs

Homemade playdough is always a winner in our house. Mix up a batch (I used cocoa powder as brown natural colouring, but any colour will do) and roll it into little hedgehog shapes. Then let the kids poke in sticks, pumpkin seeds, pasta, or anything spiky for the quills. Pop on some googly eyes and you’ve got the cutest little hedgehogs.

What you’ll need:

• Playdough:

Download Homemade Playdough Recipe

• Sticks, pumpkin seeds, pistachio shells, pasta, or anything spiky for the quills

• Small rocks, buttons, or googly eyes, for the hedgehog’s face

TIP: add 1 1/2 tbsp of cinnamon or pumpkin spice (nutmeg, cinnamon, and ginger) to make it smell like Autumn!

👉 This is brilliant for little fingers - lots of squeezing, pressing, and poking, all while being creative.

2. Hedgehog Leaf Collage

Next time you’re out on a walk, collect a basket of autumn leaves in all their colours. When you’re back home, print off our hedgehog template from the button below, and let the children glue on the leaves to make a big spiky coat. Every hedgehog turns out different, and they look so cheerful hung up on the wall. I love displaying our activities on the wall - the boys are always so proud to see them there (and so am I)!

Download Hedgehog Template

3. Pine Cone Hedgehogs

Pine cones are basically nature’s ready-made hedgehogs, aren’t they?

Just add a cut-out egg carton nose (we stuck ours using a hot glue gun, but you can use multi-purpose glue too), then stick on some googly eyes, and you’ve got yourself a woodland friend.

I love how different these turn out. Luca (2) went straight for the red nose and tiny googly eyes, whereas Diego (5) chose to keep his monochrome with a black nose and black eyes. We didn't have a large black pompom, so he rolled a piece of black pipe cleaner.

When we made these at our home-ed group, some kids added ears, extra pompoms, and pipe cleaners tangled around the pine cone. Let your littles be free to imagine his/her hedgehog friend.

These look adorable on a nature table or windowsill, and they’re so quick to make.

4. Peg Hedgehog Maths

Print out our hedgehog template, grab some wooden clothes pegs, and let the kids clip them on as spikes. Pair this with some simple addition and subtraction cards, and suddenly maths becomes hands-on and fun.

Download Hedgehog Template

👉 Plus, pegging is great for building those little hand muscles for writing.

Additional Resources

I downloaded some printables from Twinkl to use with my children to introduce the theme Hedgehog. Here are the links to the ones we used:

1. Hedgehog Diagram Pack

2. I’m a Little Hedgehog Song

3. Dot to Dot to 20

4. Hedgehog Fact Sheet

5. Word Search

6. Peg Counting Activity

7. Scissor Cutting Skill Worksheet

8. Hedgehog Bingo Dauber Number Formation Worksheets

*This is not an AD - I just genuinely love them!

Hedgehog Books to Snuggle Up With

After all that creating, there’s nothing nicer than curling up with a story. Here are a few hedgehog-themed books we love:

• The Hedgehog’s Balloon by Nick Butterworth

• Hedgehugs by Lucy Tapper & Steve Wilson

• The Very Helpful Hedgehog by Rosie Wellesley

• Prickly Hedgehogs! by Jane McGuinness (a lovely non-fiction one if your child asks lots of “why” questions!)

• Horace and Hattiepillar by Lucy Tapper & Steve Wilson

A Sweet Hedgehog Rhyme

Here’s a simple little rhyme you can say (or sing to the tune of I’m a Little Teapot). My kids loved curling up at the end like a hedgehog:

I’m a little hedgehog, short and round,

Here are my prickles, here is my snout.

When I hear a rustle, without a doubt,

I curl up cosy, inside and out!

Why Hedgehog Activities?

These hedgehog activities are such a gentle way to start the season. They get the children outside collecting leaves, busy at the table making and sticking, and snuggled up with books and rhymes. And the best bit? They’re learning while they play, without even realising it.

Until next time,

Itala