School has started. The weather may be cooler. Fall is coming. Seasonal changes provide natural learning times. Try these ideas for bringing a little fall learning to your preschoolers.
Fall Learning Ideas for Preschoolers
Literacy
Fall Books – Stock your classroom library with books about fall. Books that show changing leaves, pumpkins, and farm harvests will help boys and girls learn things that happen in the fall. If you live in a place that does not have obvious fall changes, these books can help your children expand their personal knowledge of other places and unfamiliar types of seasonal changes.
Make a Book – Talk about changes that happen in your community as fall arrives (especially if more “traditional” fall changes do not happen). Maybe a fair comes to town or football games are played. School starts. Pumpkins are available for sale. The farmers market opens. Whatever changes happen in your town are important for children to see and recognize. Show photographs of these events. Children can draw pictures of these things. Ask a child to tell you what her picture depicts; print a sentence as dictated by the child (on the picture). Staple all the pictures together to make your own fall book. Add the book to your library for children to read.
Math
Counting – Bring pumpkin seeds or small other fall items for children to explore. Provide a ten-frame for children to arrange the seeds. As a child places seeds in a ten-frame, comment about the quantity he has. “I see 5 seeds in your frame. If we add 1 more seed, how many will we have?” Make conversations natural and free-flowing. If the child is intent on his work, pull back on the conversation and allow him to work. Exploring different kinds of materials regularly helps a child develop a strong number sense.
Sorting and Patterning – Bring several apples of different varieties. Tell children to compare the apples and group them by characteristics. After they sort the apples, ask them to sort in a different way. Some ways to sort: color, size, stem/no stem, leaf/no leaf. Encourage children to determine and explain different ways to sort. They may also enjoy creating patterns with the apples.
Science
Explore leaves and acorns. Provide tools for children to use—magnifying glasses, tongs or tweezers, and a balance scale. Also include paper and pencils or crayons for children to record their observations. (You may want to take children outside to gather their own materials instead of stocking the science table.)
Social Studies
Set up a Farmers Market for your preschoolers to play. Place small baskets on and beside a table. In the baskets arrange fruits and vegetables. Use play food items for durable play, but also include some actual “hardy” vegetables, such as cucumbers, carrots, or potatoes. Add paper and markers to make signs and play money for the “customers” to use. Include other props as available to encourage play—scale, bags, straw hats, and so forth.
Art
Lay coffee filters on trays. Pour liquid watercolors (red and yellow) into small bowls and provide eyedroppers. Help preschoolers squeeze the eyedroppers to fill them and then make drops on the coffee filters. Talk about colors of items they may see in the fall (leaves, pumpkins, apples, and so forth). As colors mix, notice the orange color that appears.
Active Play
Add small footballs to your active or outdoor play. Football is a big part of fall for many communities. Adding these balls can encourage conversations about seasons and help preschoolers recognize all kinds of fall changes.
Learning for preschoolers is most effective when activity connects with the child’s life. Use these fun fall ideas to maximize the growth of your early learners.