Fall Projects for Your Preschooler: Nature Walks and More

Fall is the perfect time of year to go on a nature walk with your children. While taking your walk, give your child a bag to carry items picked from nature such as leaves, acorns, pine cones, twigs, flowers, nuts and rocks. Once you are home, here are a few activities to do with your preschool ages child for fun.

Leaf Rubbings Art:
1. Go on a nature walk and collect leaves.
2. Put leaves on table with, vein side up and cover with a sheet of paper
3. Peel wrapping of off crayon
4. Rub the long side of the crayon over the paper

This creates a pretty shape of the leaf on the paper.

Sensory Box:
A Sensory Box is a great sensory activity for your preschooler!

How to use a sensory box: The child places her hand in the opening of the box and feels an object. She must describe the object and guess what it is by touching but not looking.

How to make a fall sensory box:
1. Take a shoe box and cut a hole just large enough for the child's hand.
2. Place nature objects in the box- acorns, leaves, pine cones, nuts, twigs, rocks
3. Have child place hand in the box and describe what she feels. Then ask her to take a guess on what the object is.

Your preschooler will love this game!

Art Collage:
1. Take a piece of contact paper and tape it on a table sticky side up.
2. Have your preschooler pick out some of the flat nature items he/she picked on the walk (leaves in different colors, flowers)
3. Have child place nature items on the sticky contact paper.
4. Cut a another piece of contact paper and place it over the collage (sticky side down).

You will have a beautiful nature collage!

Leaf Classification:
1. Print out pictures of different type of leaves from trees found in your area (oak, maple, willow, ect.)
2. Help child identify what type of leaves she found from the walk using the pictures as a reference.

leaf pressing:
An easy was to press leaves
1. Put leaves between pieces of newspaper
2. Place several heavy books on top of the nespaper
3. Let dry for two- three weeks

Once your leaves are pressed there are several art projects you and your preschooler can do with them.
Some ides- 1. Make a scrap book together and use the leaves as decoration
2. Make fall cards to send to loved ones who live far away
3. Make a leaf book

Visit Montessori Preschool for more ideas!

Your preschooler will love all these activities! She will not only be having lots of fun but she is also learning. Enjoy!