Fall is a great time to embrace Preschoolers’ natural curiosity! The change of weather that September and October bring is rich with opportunities to explore and engage all the senses. It is also a wonderful time to teach children about the natural need for change, something that can often be difficult or scary for preschoolers. So put on your favorite sweater or hoodie, grab a hot beverage, and plan some special Fall fun with your little ones that is sure to create lasting memories!
Here at Wishing Well Preschool, we love diving into all the fun each new season has to offer! Preschoolers love a good theme day, learning about colors, counting, and the calendar! Check out a virutal tour to learn more about our classrooms today!
Get Outside
Taking a nature walk is the perfect way to spend an evening or a weekend afternoon! A walk can help slow everyone down from a busy day or week. Instead of stopping to smell the roses, though, stop and notice all the different types of leaves! Ask your preschooler what colors they see. How are the leaves different from each other? How are they the same? Why are the leaves on the ground? This is a great opportunity to talk about the life cycle of a tree. Sometimes it is full of green leaves and sometimes it has flowers! But in Fall, the leaves turn colors and eventually fall off. The tree has a season of rest during the winter before it comes back to life in spring! You can tell your preschooler, “We have times to be quiet and rest, just like the tree.”
There are many treasures your preschooler might notice on a nature walk, like acorns, buckeyes, walnuts or crabapples. Let your child carry a jar or bag for his or her findings. Consider bringing your treasures home to make a craft, like simple leaf rubbings. This is done by placing the leaf behind a piece of white paper and rubbing on the side of a crayon to make a print!
You may also teach your preschooler about team work by letting them help rake some leaves, in either your yard or your neighbors yard. Afterwards, let them jump in the pile and play! At Wishing Well, your preschooler will have lots of opportunitites to use their senses to explore all Fall has to offer!
Fun with Pumpkins
It wouldn’t be Fall without pumpkins, would it? We all love getting to pick a pumpkin, carefully choosing its color, size and shape. But did you know there are lots of fun things to do with pumpkins that don’t include carving? Here are a few ideas for your preschooler to explore these beloved gourds!
Golf Tee fun
All you need for this fun fine motor activity is a small wooden mallet and some golf tees! Your little one will love hammering the golf tees into the pumpkin to make a pattern of different colored tees, or no pattern at all! If you gut the pumpkin ahead of time, the holes made by the golf tees will glow nicely when you put a light inside! No carving required.
Gut the pumpkin
Mom or dad will have to carve around the top of the pumpkin to create a lid, providing access to the inside of the pumpkin. But, if you have a kid who loves to get messy or play with different textures, the next part will be their job! Let your preschooler dig in with both hands and pull out all the guts from the inside of the pumpkin. Then they can separate the seeds from the goop.
Roast the seeds
Allow your child to sprinkle the seasonings of your choosing onto the pumpkin seeds. Some people like to use butter, some use oil. Others like sweet seeds made of cinnamon and sugar, while others prefer savory or spicy seasonings! Spread them on wax paper-lined cookie sheet and bake at 300 degrees for 35-45minutes! For more detailed instructions check out this recipe!
Decorate the pumpkin
Finally, if you want to give your preschooler a hands-on experience decorating a pumpkin, pull out the acrylic paints and let them paint it however they wish! You may also experiment with the use of stickers or temporary tattoos on the pumpkin. Some children may prefer you do the decorating, so if you like to carve or paint, consider getting their input! Perhaps they would like you to create one of their favorite movie or storybook characters. They may enjoy watching you create even more than doing it themselves! The key is to create memories, not the perfect pumpkin.
Get in the Kitchen
It’s often said that the kitchen is the heart of the home! No doubt the tastes and smells of Fall food are nothing short of comforting and offer tons of opportunities for memory making with your preschooler. It’s true, cooking can be messy, and even dangerous! But there are plenty of ways to get your littlest chefs involved in the kitchen, even just a little bit, this season. Here are a few simple, but safe ways, to include your preschool in the food prep experience.
Let them watch
Little kids love to watch what’s happening. This is one of my favorite things about preschoolers! They are wide-eyed with wonder over what we find mundane. It is true, some children will need to learn how to watch with their eyes and not with their hands. However, they are learning all kinds of things as they watch you measure, pour and mix. They are learning the names of ingredients, they are learning about fractions, and they are learning sequencing (first do this, then do this, last do this).
Pour and stir
Your preschooler may not be able to measure properly, but once you’ve scooped out the right amount, they are experts at dumping! They are learning important fine motor skills as they seek to handle the measuring cup and get the ingredients successfully (mostly) in the bowl! What seems very simple to us instills in them a sense of pride, because they accomplished something and helped mom or dad in the process. The same goes for stirring. They may need a little assistance, but that little bit of help is a great boding experience for you and your child.
Clean-up
Every kiddo needs to learn that cooking also involves clean up! Preschoolers can help put dishes in the sink or put ingredients back into the pantry. They can throw trash in the garbage can and help wipe off the counter. They can even help with a small vacuum or broom! Everything is a learning experience for preschoolers, and an opportunity to gain motor skills, independence and a positive sense of self.
Some of my favorite fun Fall snacks to make with preschoolers include: s’mores (and s’mores inspired desserts), pumpkin muffins, dipped pretzel sticks or marshmallows with fall sprinkles, sugar cookies (that kids can cut out and decorate)
We love partnering with families to help build happy, confident kiddos! At Wishing Well, your children will have lots of opportunities to learn to be helpful in the classroom, instilling responsibility and pride in a job well done!
Cozy up with a book
Autumn wouldn’t be Autumn without a blanket and a good book! Plus, studies have shown that reading to your children at a young age is one of the greatest boosts to language and literacy! There are a plethera of beautiful picture
books to enjoy with your children to help usher in the season, and to help them think about the acitivities you are engaging in, like nature walks, pumpkin decorating and cooking yummy Fall foods!
At Wishing Well Preschool, your child will have access to many books and story time opportunities in the classroom to foster his or her love for learning and reading!
In Summary
Fall is the perfect season for preschoolers—a time for change, bursting with natural materials, vivid colors, and sensory fun that help develop motor skills, creativity, and language learning! From leaf art and pumpkin play, to making yummy treats and taking nature walks, Fall offers endless opportunities for playful learning that is both meaningful and memorable.
Let these autumn adventures be the foundation for many fond traditions to come!
Happy Fall!