Ever changing fall collage

During our Autumn/Fall walk we collected lots of natural objects from our environment.

The idea was to use them to learn about Autumn, textures, colors etc and for creative purposes too. 

We made sticky pictures with them, which my daughter loved doing. However,  for an ongoing project, I created a tray with soil and the found objects. 

The beauty of this activity is that not only can you create pictures and patterns again and again but, the resources are free and readily available in your local environment. It also makes a welcome change from playing with all singing and dancing plastic toys.     

Who can play?

Children aged 3 years and above, according to their age and stage of development. 

Safety:

There is a risk of choking with this acivity, due to small objects. Constant adult supervision is highly recommended.

What do you need?

1 Tray

2 Soil

3 Natural objects such as, leaves, twigs, stones etc

4 Container to store objects

4 Picnic blanket or table if playing outside

What did we do?

To set up the invitation to play, I placed a picnic blanket on the grass, with a tray of soil and a container with our objects that we found on our Autumnal walk.

                    

Bee used the objects in many ways. At first she arranged them to make a face...

                   

... And then she practiced her sorting and classifying skills, as she separated the objects into groups.         

We enjoyed experimenting with the designs and practiced our creativity skills.

After the activity had finished, we brought the objects and the tray (minus the soil) inside, so that Bee had the opportunity to revisit the activity later in the afternoon.

What did we learn?

• Communication and language- Learning new words and talking through what they are doing.
• Physical development- Fine and large manipulative skills and coordination when picking up leaves etc and placing them on the tray.  
• Personal, social and emotional- Fun and enjoyment. Developing sensory skills. Making decisions when selecting which items to use in her masterpiece.
• Mathematics- Learning about space and measurement. Comparing and measuring leaves and talking about sizes. Counting objects, learning about patterns and spacial awareness. Classifying and grouping objects.
• Understanding of the world-  Change of state and talking about weather conditions and seasons. Developing an awareness of the world around them and their local environment. 
• Literacy- Developing fine manipulative skills that are needed for holding writing tools. The natural objects could also be arranged into letter formations. 
• Expressive arts and design- Creating patterns and designing their own picture with natural objects.

What could be done next?

1. As mentioned above, the activity can be recreated inside minus the soil

2. Using the found objects make pictures of autumnal animals

3. To encourage literacy skills, encourage your child to make letters with them.

4. Encourage sequencing skills, by asking your child to copy a sequence you have made for example, acorn, leaf, acorn, leaf.

Autumn/Fall sticky pictures

During our Autumn/Fall nature walk, we collected some interesting natural items that we plan to use during our craft projects this month. One activity we had in mind was to create pictures using the objects, paper and glue. 

Not only were the resources in this activity free and readily available but, were interesting and created lots of discussion too.

                        

Who can play?

As with all activities it depends on your child's age and stage of development however, I would recommend it for children aged 2 years onwards.

Safety:

Due to smaller children exploring objects with their mouths there is a risk of choking due to small objects. Younger children will also want to put the glue in their mouth too so, I would recommend adult supervision at all times. 

What do you need?

1. Paper

2. Glue

3. Natural objects that have been collected on your nature walk.

3. Apron to protect clothing.

What did we do?

To set up the activity, I placed the leaves, acorns etc in a container on the table and a protective mat. As soon as Bee saw the natural objects she said "we collected them the other day!" I invited her to place glue on the paper and arrange the items as she wished. 

Bee loved squeezing the glue bottle and making swirls and patterns with the runny glue. She then selected her items and placed them on the glue.

                          

We talked about the texture, shape and size of objects and developed spacial awareness and creativity when arranging the items on the paper. Bee even made a face out of some leaves, acorns and a twig.

                       

What did we learn?

• Communication and language- Talk about what they are doing and what they see and feel.
• Physical development- Fine and large manipulative skills and coordination when picking up leaves etc and placing them onto the paper. Squeezing the glue from the bottle and hand-eye coordination skills.
• Personal, social and emotional- Fun and enjoyment. Developing sensory skills. Making decisions as to what items they would like to use and pride from finished product.
• Mathematics- Comparing and measuring leaves and talking about sizes. Counting objects that you place on the paper. Learning about spacial awareness and patterns
• Understanding of the world- Change of state and talking about weather conditions and seasons. Developing an awareness of the world around them and their local environment. 
• Literacy- Developing fine manipulative skills that are needed for holding writing tools and an opportunity to make letters out of the natural objects.
• Expressive arts and design- Creating patterns and designing pictures with the glue and natural objects.

What next

1. The finished products can be displayed on the wall, for a fall decoration. This will give your child a sense of pride and make them feel important and like they are valued.

2. Take a photograph of the picture because, as time goes by items may fall off and this way you will have a copy of it forever.

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Autumn/fall nature walk

What could be more fun than going on a nature walk, to learn about the effects of Fall/Autumn and collect treasures along the way?! 

My daughter loves picking up twigs, leaves and stones all year round, she says that they are her special gift. We collect them all in a large vase near the front door, from time to time she likes to revisit the vase and make patterns with the natural objects inside. Playing with the natural objects inspired me to take her on a little Autumnal walk. 

Our aim for this activity was to discuss the changes that Autumn brings and collect natural items to explore and create future masterpiece's with.

                      

Who can play?

Children of all ages would love this activity. Obviously the level of involvement will be different for each child as it depends on their age and stage of development. 

Safety:

This activity is a great opportunity to learn road safety rules.

Be aware of what your child is picking up, especially if it is near an area where dogs go to the bathroom.

You will need constant adult supervision when your child is handling the found objects, as they could potentially be dangerous or cause a choking risk to small children.

What do you need?

1. Depending on the climate of the country, you will need sensible clothing and shoes

2. Stroller for babies and younger children (in case they become tired during the walk)

3. Clipboard, paper and pencil (attached with string, so that you do not lose it)

4. Basket or bag to collect the objects you find

5. Camera

6. Magnifying glass or binoculars 

Things to do on your walk

Babies: Go for a walk with your baby in the stroller and stop for a while to point out the leaves on the trees and floor. Just being out in the fresh air can also have a big impact on your babies overall development. 

Toddlers: Talk about the different colored leaves that they see. Count the leaves and encourage your child to pick them up and place them in a bag/basket. This not only encourages mathematical skills, but physical too. Discuss temperatures and weather conditions, for example is it hot, cold, windy etc.

Pre-schoolers and Kindergarten/reception: Talk about the changes that happen in Autumn for example, it gets cooler and darker earlier in the evenings. Discuss the changes in the colour of leaves and why they fall to the ground. Compare the leaves that they find and discuss their shape, size and what type of tree they have come from. 

Observe wildlife, such as squirrels harvesting nuts for winter or the different birdlife that Autumn brings.

This age group will also enjoy taking photos of what they find with a camera. My daughter Bee, enjoyed drawing a picture of a tree and an acorn on the clipboard, whilst we were on our exploration.

                         

What can be learnt?

• Communication and language- Listening to and following instructions
• Physical development- Fine and large manipulative skills and coordination when picking up leaves etc and acing them in the basket. 
• Personal, social and emotional- Making relationships. Fun and enjoyment. Developing sensory skills. Making decisions as to what items they would like to collect.
• Mathematics- Learning about capacity concepts. Comparing and measuring leaves and talking about sizes. Counting objects that you collect.
• Understanding of the world- Learning road safety. Change of state and talking about weather conditions and seasons. Developing an awareness of the world around them and their local environment. 
• Literacy- Developing fine manipulative skills that are needed for holding writing tools and an opportunity to write on the clipboard the names of the objects that they find.
• Expressive arts and design- Looking at patterns and designs in the environment.

What next?

Display your natural items in a bowl to encourage future discussions regarding Autumn. If you found man made items whilst on your walk, talk about litter and the importance of placing it in the bin/trash.

There are so many ways that you can play and be creative with the items you have found. Here are a few ideas:

1. Maths concepts could be encouraged by making sequences with acorns and leaves. 

Making patterns with natural objects. This can also be done by using them as counting resources.

2. Autumn/fall sticky pictures

3. Leaf printing

4. Bark rubbing trees

Frozen themed sensory bottles

My 4 year old daughter is still obsessed with the movie Frozen, so most of our activities have featured elements of the movie and it's characters. Following a theme or something that your child is really interested in helps them become involved and excited to learn. 

For a great sensory experience we decided to make some Frozen themed sensory bottles. With some water, glitter and food colouring we created a glittery snowstorm. Some children may find the bottles  relaxing as they watch the glitter travel down the bottle (once shaken) and I have heard that they can be therapeutic and used in situations when your child needs to find a way to calm down.

Due to Bee's upcoming birthday, that obviously had a Frozen theme, we decided to make extra sensory bottles to give out as favors, for the babies that were attending.  

                        

Who can play?

Children of all ages will love the sensory bottles... Even grown ups.

Safety:

Like with all activities adult supervision is recommended at all times.

Ensure that the lid on the bottle is securely attached, to prevent children drinking the contents or spilling it. The liquid can also stain fabric.

I recommend that an adult uses the glue gun as it can burn skin and damage work surfaces etc. 

What do you need?

Clean plastic bottles

Water

Food colouring

Glitter glue and glitter

Jug 

Tray

Tape

Spoon

You can make the sensory bottles with just the items mentioned above, or if you wanted to make them extra special you will need:

Glue gun

Felt

Ribbon

What did we do?

Firstly we placed a jug of water on a tray (to catch any water that could possibly spill)  Bee then carefully dropped some blue food colouring into the water. She commented on how it looked "swirly". Using a spoon she stirred the liquid to ensure the food colouring was fully mixed in. 

We talked about how the clear water had changed colour.

                    

Once Bee was happy with the mixture, she poured it carefully and slowly into the bottle, showing a lot of concentration and hand eye coordination.

                       

Next was the fun part... Adding the glitter. We chose glitter glue and regular glitter. Bee's theory was the more the merrier! 

She showed a lot of physical development as she shook the glitter tub carefully in the bottle and would squeeze the glitter glue dispenser. We loved watching the glitter glue slowly fall to the bottom of the bottle like a snake. Then we had to give it a really good shake to mix it in.

                      

Our next job was to screw on the bottle lid and ensure that it would stay there by wrapping tape around the lid and neck of the bottle. 

                    

You can either stop here or go ahead and make them look extra special. To do this I cut a circular shape out of felt, that was just big enough to go around the bottle top and neck of the bottle.

                    

Using a hot glue gun I attached the felt to the bottle and the cap. Bee could not participate at this point due to a high risk of burns. She watched from a distance and we talked about being safe. I showed her how the glue sticks melt and come out as liquid from the other side of the glue gun.

                   

All that was left to do was tie a piece of blue ribbon around the neck if the bottle. Bee loved shaking the bottles and watching the glitter fall. For me, I found it quite therapeutic and relaxing. 

The end result looked really cute and I cannot wait to hand them out at the party.

                

What did we learn?

• Communication and language- Listening to and following instructions
• Physical development- Fine and large manipulative skills and coordination when filling the bottles and shaking them.
• Personal, social and emotional- Making relationships, making a gift for others, social skills, fun and enjoyment. Developing sensory skills and relaxation.
• Mathematics- Measuring out the water, food colouring and glitter. Learning about capacity concepts.
• Understanding of the world- Change of state and talking about weather conditions such as snow and ice.
• Expressive arts and design-designing and making your own sensory bottle 

What could be done next?

1. Experiment with different colours of glitter and food colouring. 

2. Change the items in the bottles, for example add Pom poms or rice etc. This will extend sensory development and can also be used for musical instruments.

3. Use as a relaxation bottle for challenging moments