Fun Fall Activities

Materials: Leaves; paper plate; glue, tape or stapler; marker or pen; scissors

• Take a walk with your child and gather autumn leaves (be sure to watch what young children pick up!)

• Select whole leaves of various shapes and colors, and talk with your toddler about the weather, the smells, and the colors and textures of the leaves.

• Back at home, cut a half-circle out of the center of a paper plate.

• With your child, glue or staple the leaves around the edge of the plate. You can overlap the leaves to cover the plate but be sure to leave the remaining half-circle in the center uncovered.

• Depending on your child’s skill level, you may want to glue the leaves yourself and let your child select the leaves to use.

• On the remaining half-circle in the center, write “I am thankful for ____” and then let your child write, dictate or draw what they are thankful for. Put the child’s name on the wreath and display it prominently in your home.

• Gather leaves outdoors.
• Place a leaf beneath a thin white piece of paper (sturdy tissue paper works well).
• Guiding your toddler, let him/ her color over the leaf and watch its intricate print appear.
• Make leaf prints using different colors and talk about colors, shapes and sizes.

• Buy a pumpkin

• Lay down newspaper on the floor.

• Describe what you are doing and, with your toddler watching at a safe distance, cut a hole at the top of the pumpkin large enough for your forearm to fit in. Scrape the inside walls of the pumpkin to loosen the “guts”.

• Let your toddler stick his/her washed hands inside the pumpkin to scoop out the guts and place them in a bowl.

• Work with your child to separate out the seeds. Place the seeds on a cookie sheet and bake at 300 degrees for about 30 minutes or until toasted.

• Lightly salt and enjoy a nutritious treat!