Autumn leaves are falling!

    Autumn is my favorite time of year, especially when dealing with small children.  It's such a blessing to view the changing colors and weather through the eyes of a child.  Autumn has always been a time of wonderment, but with children the whole season becomes more about creativity and discovery.
    Discovery is so important to children, because they learn best through hands on experiences.  Some autumn activities that can involve the whole family include pumpkin and leaf art.
    The Mailbox October/November issue is a great tool for the season.  Even if it is an old issue, it still remains relevant for children. 
    One of my favorite leaf activities is to take a leaf, place the leaf under a piece of paper and allow the children to run crayons over the paper.  The leaf patterns come out magically for them and they can learn about Autumn colors through the crayons that they use.  The children could even take leaf cutouts and place them over different surfaces in order to color out different textures for a whole new sensory experience(see The Mailbox Magazine).
    Remember to talk about the changing of the leaf colors and what that means for the world around them!
    For pumpkin art, let the children pick out small pumpkins or gourds.  Then cut them in half, allowing the children to paint with the pumpkin halves.  Don't forget to get the large pumpkins and carve away! 

Clean up tips:

• Place newspaper down on carving surfaces when using pumpkins
• Use thick construction paper so that pumpkin halves and paint do not go through paper
• Save pumpkin seeds for baking (great recipes to come on this blog!)

References/Resources:



1. The Mailbox  The Idea Magazine for Teachers.Oct./Nov 2010.  Vol. 16--Number 5--Preschool.
    The Education Center.  USA.  P.O. Box 8345, Red Oak, IA 51591-1345.