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.