As the weather began to cool and the leaves started falling, the children noticed the changes in their outdoor environment. They picked up the leaves of different colors on the ground, explored and played with them. Seeing the children's interest, we did some relevant activities that would support the curiosity, which we will share with you.
Singing activities: The children joined in singing with educator Sue. "This is autumn, this is autumn, the leaves fall down. This is the autumn, this is autumn, the leaves fall to the ground. This is autumn, this is autumn, such a beautiful season. The children like to go outside to play." As we would sing together, the children would joyfully pick up leaves and throw them in the air.
Creating with leaves: Children were given collected leaves with many materials to create with. We provided children with all different kinds of craft materials and allowed them to choose the way they wanted to decorate the leaves. Layan glued some pieces of yarn on the leaves. Brooke coloured on the leaves with markers and Roman painted them with Q-tips. Michelle and Kali -Ann used scissors to cut the leaves into the shapes they liked. Other children also chose different materials to decorate the leaves. Each child created something unique, turning natural material into meaningful art.
Painted paper leaves with marbles: In a creative twist, the children used marbles dipped in paint to decorate paper leaves. The children placed the marbles in a container filled with paper leaves. They shook the container with their hands, and the marbles rolled around forming numerous lines, and creating different kinds of beautiful leaves.
Outdoor activities: The children also explored how to care for their environment by using brooms, rakes, and shovels to collect fallen leaves. While engaged in this practice, the children demonstrated concentration and worked carefully to do so.
Using the changing colors of leaves to help preschoolers understand the arrival of autumn, has many important benefits: Stimulates sensory development (sight, touch, etc. through their hands on experience and participation). Visual stimulation: The vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows of autumn leaves create a captivating spectacle that captures children's attention, sparking their curiosity and imagination. Tactile exploration: Collecting and touching leaves of varying textures (dry, soft, smooth, rough). Recognizes seasonal changes: This is a great opportunity for children to gain a direct understanding of the changing seasons and the cycles of nature. They can witness the leaves transform from green to other colorful ones and then falling, building a concrete understanding of autumn. Artistic Creativity: Using fallen leaves for art activities like collages, not only develops fine motor skills but also stimulates self-expression and imagination. Outdoor activities: Finding and playing outdoors (such as clearing fallen leaves) provides excellent gross motor skills, cooperation and strengthens coordination. We wonder if we will see interest in differentiating between autumn and winter when the time comes, and what learning we will see and support.
