Take a walk in your neigbourhood or at a local park to have a look at the changes taking place in nature. You could point out to your child the different sounds you hear and describe the way the trees look as the leaves are changing colour and falling on the ground.
Getting Ready for Your Outdoor Adventure Every explorer needs binoculars! Heres an easy way to make a great pair of binoculars for your child to take along on your walk to help him/her see all the sights of fall!
What you need:
2 recycled toilet paper rolls
markers or crayons
stapler or tape
cellophane or plastic wrap (optional)
What to do:
Decorate your recycled toilet paper tubes using markers or crayons
Staple, or tape, the two tubes together (side by side)
You may want to cover the ends of the tubes with some cellophane or plastic wrap to make the binoculars even more authentic
On your walk be sure to take along a bag to collect and carry leaves of different shapes, sizes and colours, as well as pinecones and small twigs. Once you are have some fall items collected, here are some activities you could try with your toddler or preschooler:
Sorting Your Treasures empty your nature walk collection bag onto the floor or at a table. Have your child make piles of like items (i.e. a pile of large orange leaves, one of small red leaves, a pile of sticks etc...). You could have your child try to guess which pile has most and which has least. You could even help your child count the items in the piles to see if their guess was correct.
A Guessing Game take a bag or a box and place a few nature walk items in it. Have your child close his/her eyes, place one hand inside the box or bag and feel one of the objects inside. Help your child describe what s/he is touching by asking questions like what does that feel like? Does that feel like something else you have touched before? Is it small or big? Hard or soft? Prickly or smooth?
Now comes the guessing part. Have your child try to guess what object s/he is holding just by touching, no peeking! After s/he has given a few guesses s/he can pull the item out and see what it is. Make sure you take a turn too!
(A fun way to make this activity a bit more challenging is to wear a glove or mitten while feeling the mystery items inside the box.)
Catch the Rays of the Season with a Gorgeous Sun Catcher By using the leaves you collected on your walk and adding a some colourful recycled tissue paper you and your child are well on your way to an exciting artistic creation.
What you need:
2 pieces of construction paper
a selection of attractive leaves
recycled tissue paper ripped or cut into small pieces
wax paper
non toxic glue
yarn or ribbon
hole punch or scissors
an iron (for adult use only)
What to do:
Fold the pieces of construction paper in half vertically and cut out a large rectangle in the centre so that you are left with a wide (approximately 6 cm) frame.
Measure two pieces of wax paper to fit inside your frame (keep in mind that you will need to glue the edges inside the paper frame).
On the waxy side of the wax paper, have your child make a creative arrangement of leaves and small pieces of tissue paper and glue them down with non-toxic clear drying glue (regular white glue works well)
Place the second piece of wax paper (waxy side down) on top of your childs arrangement. On a low temperature setting gently iron down. Ironing will cause the wax in the paper to melt and stick together. (It would be a good idea to place a thin towel between the wax paper and the iron.)
This can now be glued inside the construction paper frame. After the glue has dried and your frame is holding securely, punch or cut holes in each of the top corners and tie some ribbon or yarn through. Your sun catcher is now ready to be hung up in the window!
