Autumn Activities
Awesome Autumn Activities
The crisp autumn air is just around the corner . Help your little one learn and grow through exploration and play .
Anoka Family Place ECFE Teacher , Tricia Weber – along with other ECFE and preschool staff – shared a variety of awesome autumn activities to try this season .
Introduce your child to new sensory experiences .
• Dance , jump and crunch in the leaves .
• You can visit an apple orchard or pick up your favorite apples at the grocery store . “ Talk about the differences and similarities between the apples – whether they are red , green or yellow ; if they taste sweet or sour ; or if they feel hard or soft ,” Weber recommends . If you are really brave , let your child finger paint with applesauce !
Talk about numbers .
• If baking tasty fall treats is a favorite family pastime , measure the ingredients together . Babies can play with measuring cups and spoons , and you can practice counting with your toddler or preschooler as you measure and prepare your treat : 2 cups of flour , 1 cup of sugar , 3 pinches of cinnamon ! Show your child how many fingers each number looks like .
• It ’ s likely too early to let your baby , toddler or preschooler carve a pumpkin – but let them squish and squeeze “ pumpkin guts ” instead . Afterward , line up the seeds and count how many you found .
“
There is value in just doing things together as a
”
family – any time of year . - Tricia Weber , ECFE teacher
Move your body in new and different ways .
• Paint pumpkins – with a brush or fingers ! “ This is great for babies to develop shoulder mobility ,” Weber says . Cut off the top of the pumpkin and hand your child a spoon or small shovel to scoop the insides out .
• Weber suggests letting your toddler or preschooler “ hammer ” golf tees into a pumpkin . “ This helps your child practice hand-eye coordination and fine motor development ,” she explains . Either leave the tees in the pumpkin for decoration or pull them out to let the light from a lit pumpkin shine through .
• Spread peanut butter , sun butter or honey onto a pinecone , and then use your hands to roll it in bird seed . Hang it from a tree or shrub that you can see from indoors and watch the birds stop by for a snack .
Tell stories .
• “ Grab a bag and go on a scavenger hunt !” suggests Weber . One of her favorite things to do with her twin daughters when they were young was to collect items on a nature walk – leaves , sticks , acorns – and then make a collage at home . It ’ s easy to place those items under a piece of paper , and then rub a crayon over the top to see the texture of each item . “ Relive the adventures of the day by talking about what happened first , next , and then last ,” Weber says . “ Understanding the sequence of events is important for young children as they learn how to read .”
• Visit your local library to find new books related to harvest , apples , pumpkins or leaves . Children enjoy seeing pictures and hearing new stories .
Most importantly , Weber reminds families , “ There is value in just doing things together as a family – any time of year .”
8 anoka-Hennepin Community Education I 763-506-1275