It’s windy. It’s rainy. You have a handful of kids or what feels like a handful. What to do?
Fly a Kite
Collect & measure the Rain using measuring tape, legos, blocks, or even yourself! Does it go past your ankles? Does it go past your wrist? Does it go past your elbow? Does it go past your pinky? Your fingers?
Make a wind chime using recyclables
Jump in puddles
Draw using chalk and notice how it changes into pastel
Make forts with blankets, pillows anything you could think of!
Water play: make magical potions
Shaving cream kind of day! Add food coloring for pops of color.
Paint using water color
Paint on the windows using water drops: have water drop races on the windows
Make rainwater paintings with puddles!
Build using wood, legos, recyclables: whatever your brain thinks up!
Read and act out your favorite books
Karaoke: sing your favorite songs.
Yoga (Kid version!)
Nothing. Get bored and see where it takes you & what could be created.
Hello Fall. How I’ve missed you. I love the Fall (the book by Albert Camus) But especially, the season. Goodbye Summer. The leaves are falling down. Red, Yellow, Orange and Brown,…the leaves are falling down. Goodbye Summer. Hello Fall. The crisp is not only in the crunch of the leaves but also in the air. Chilly-Crisp the kind of weather love to read a book in.
Here are my top 10 books for children for this season followed by a reading challenge. Comment yours below if you’d like.
I Like Pumpkins by Jerry Smath
Where the Wild Things Are by Mercer Meyer
Abiyoyo by Pete Seeger (all seasons really!)
Happy Halloween Biscuit by Alyssa Satin Capucilli
Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert
Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn by Kenard Pak
The Scarecrow by Beth Ferry
Too Many Pumpkins by Linda White
The Leaf Thief by Alice Hemming
The Giant Carrot by Jan Peck
Fall Book Challenge to Fall into. Get your Read on….
A book with Fall colors red, yellow, orange and brown (on the front cover and inside).
A book about a ghost, scarecrow, giant, witch or monster.
A book about fall foods.
A book about leaves.
A book featuring fall songs (bonus: sing together!)
A book about pumpkins and gourds
A book showing the change of seasons
A chapter book featuring any or all of the challenges 😉
****Heads up:Many of the books on the challenge are listed in the top ten. 🙂 Happy Reading! Love, light and change your way.
How do you notice and celebrate the fall? There are so many ways to acknowledge it with children in natural ways. Bring in and celebrate the changing seasons with some of these creative ideas. Please feel free to share some of your family’s ideas in the comment section below: sharing is caring! These sensory and awesome activities are simple to set up and perfect for inviting your child to explore and notice the wonders of Autumn.
1. Take a Walk to Notice the Changing Leaves
Change the lyrics of the classic Bear Hunt song to “We’re going on a leaf hunt” and take a walk together as you notice the leaves falling as they crunch beneath your shoes and spy the changing colors. Walk while collecting colorful various sized leaves as you go. Invite your children to tell you what color, texture and size of each leaf in fun ways. For example…notice the size by pondering outloud: “I wonder if it’s bigger/smaller than your hand?” “How does it feel?” “Where did the green disappear to?” “How did the color change?” “Which is your favorite shade?” Once you’re home, invite your child to sort the leaves by size, shape and color.
2. Sensory Play with Fall
Sensory play is vital for babies and children and there are lots of amazing ways to represent the colors of Fall. Invite your child to change the leaves with food coloring or Tempera paints. Wonder out loud: “If you could change the colors of the leaves, what color would you change them to?” “How does a leaf change its color?” Offer Blue/Red, Yellow/Red, Yellow/Blue primary paint combinations to discover what they turn into.
4. Sing Autumn Songs click below for some ideas
5. Read Books about Trees: list of ideas below: **add your titles in the comments below** *Bonus Make Your Own Book Using Colorful Leaves
The Lorax, The Giving Tree, Stuck, Because of an Acorn, The Kids’ Family Tree Book, Can You Hear the Trees Talking?, The Tree Book for Kids and their Grown-ups
6. Observe, Draw and Pick out Some Favorite Trees
Take a sketchpad outside and draw what you see. Plan to revisit and plant one of you and your child’s favorite trees in the spring!
5. Paint / Collage with Leaves
Use leaves to paint and collage with. Make a large Fall mural inspired by the Fall. **Bonus Make a fall wreath together for your door or a neighbor’s door.
6. Rake the Leaves
Don’t forget to JUMP in them! Make up a story using the leaves together.
7. Make Leaf Rubbings / Pressings
Grab a paper, crayons (and/or pastels), playdough/clay. Place the leaf/leaves on the paper. Place a paper on top and then use the crayon (writing utensil) to rub. (Another variation is to do pressings by pressing the leaf into playdough/clay to make impressions/imprints. See it by clicking below:
8. Visit a National Park and Chat with a Park Ranger
Visiting parks and nature is a wonderful way to get up and personal with nature, especially trees. Talking with a park ranger who is an expert could turn into a life changing memorable experience as you make meaning out of the trees and their importance. If you’re local to Fiolina the Arboretum is an iconic place to visit many types of trees from the smallest Bonsais’ to the tallest of Sycamores. A perfect place for that sketchpad we mentioned earlier.
Have Fall inspired ideas you want to share? Let us know by commenting below!
Photo by Tatiana Syrikova on
From the Playground 