Theres nothing more tranquil then the smell of cinnamon and apple candles. The sound of the rain hitting the window and the winds gentle breeze. A warm cup of coffee for those early mornings. Everything about fall is so calming, and its something I cherish so deep in my heart. Autumn is indeed our favourite season in this household, so I thought I'd share a few of our favourite activities, with nature as our guiding resource. We were so inspired by these activities, my hope is you will as well.
Leaf Garland
Materials:
- Leaves
- String
- Clothes Pins
Directions:
-Using a double boiler , melt bees wax pellets. Keep at warm/hot temp so wax stays melted. Dip in leaves using tongs or simply holding leaf by stem if long enough. Let wax drip off for a few seconds, and lay flat to dry on wax paper. Leaves should dry within 1 minute. Display and enjoy!
Leaf Lanterns
Materials:
- Leaves
Directions:
- Collect leaves on a nature walk
- Podge leaves onto jar (you may flatten the leaves in a book for a few hours, or over night to help with applying to jar).
- Let dry and enjoy!
Apple tin prints
Materials:
- Muffin baking tin
- Paint and brushes
- White paper
Directions:
-Simply paint on the bottoms of the muffin tins. Use colours of apples during the season if you wish!
-Place your paper on the muffin tin making sure not to move it around to prevent smudging.
-Let dry and enjoy!
Autumn Stamps
Materials
- Wooden embellishments
Directions:
- Apply a wooden embellishment onto wooden round pieces with hot glue gun. May use for a variety of play such as play doh, ink stamps, paint etc. If using for paint and ink, it will stain the wood but the quality will still work as it should.
Leaf Man
Materials:
- Leaves, sticks, rocks, acorns, pinecones and other nature pieces.
- Glue
- Construction paper
- Leaf man book (optional)
Directions:
- Read leaf man book and go on a walk to collect natures treasures such as leaves, sticks etc.
- With your findings, create your very own leaf man, animal, insect etc!
-Let dry
Pumpkin Painting
Materials:
- Real, small pumpkins (preferably white).
- Paint
- Paint brushes
Directions:
-Simply paint onto pumpkins as you choose!
-Let dry.
- Older children can get more creative and create paint patterns, shapes, and pumpkin facial expressions.
Apple Sensory Bin
Materials:
- Rolled oats
- Cinnamon sticks and loose cinnamon to place in oats for inviting smell.
- Bowls and scoops
- Abc puzzle board
Directions
-Set up to your own content and let the children explore!
Leaf Light table
Materials:
- Laminated leaves
Directions:
- Laminate your own leaves and cut out. Place on light board and explore. Use tools such a magnifying glass for close up look at veins and other leaf aspects. Match the leaves to the colour cards and discuss aspects such as most common leaf colour, size, shape etc. Teaching here is very open ended. Can even use this as an opened ended science table.
Fauna Cinnamon Play doh
Materials:
1/4 cup of salt
I cup flour
3/4 cup of water
3 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
Cinnamon
Wax paper
Brown food colouring (optional)
Materials for play (forest fauna toys, animal masks, animal cards, fall stamps, play dough tools).
Directions:
1) Add wet ingredients (water, oil, lemon juice) to a non stick pot and heat to medium low heat. Liquid should just be hot and not boiling.
2) Combine salt, cinnamon and flour into a separate bowl and whisk so ingredients are blended well.
3) Once water is hot, add the dry ingredients to the pot. Mix with a spatula or wooden spoon. Keep mixing until combined well but make sure not to over cook the mixture.
4) Once everything is mixed well, remove play-doh onto wax paper. If mixture is still too sticky add a few sprinkles of flour and keep kneading until well combined.
5) Include fauna resources during play and enjoy!
Leaf Prints
Materials
- Brown recycled wrapping/craft paper
- Painters tape
- Leaves
- Paint
- Paint brushes
Directions:
- Roll out a large sheet of paper. Using painters tape, gently tape down leaves under each leaf. Paint over entire leaf, especially around the edges of leaves so you can reveal its shape. Once completed, gently remove leaves making sure not to rip paper underneath. Let dry and display.
Apple anatomy exploration
Materials:
- Apples
- Knife
- Crayons
- Post its
- Pencil
Directions:
- Read book and talk about different parts of apple. Cut one open together and separate different parts of apple. Discuss the parts we eat and the parts we put in compost. Label the different parts of apple with post its. Count the seeds in the apple and write the amount. You may also draw the anatomy in a field journal.
Seed Art
Materials
-Variety of seeds and dried beans
- Easel board or cardboard (I used 5x7 easel board)
- Glue
- Pencil
Directions
- Draw your desired picture. Simply glue and stick seeds and beans onto your picture. Let dry and enjoy!
Pumpkin Sensory Bin
Materials:
- Pumpkin P colouring page
- Scoops
- Bowls
- Orange dyed chick peas
- Dried black beans
-Pumpkins for display
- Other learning manipulative of your choice
Directions:
- Set up how you please and enjoy the imaginative play!
For more exciting activities head to my Instagram page at @littlestwildlings. Lets connect!