5 Preschool Fall Themes for Autumn Pleasure

Fall is an exciting time of year for preschoolers. School starts up again which is exciting itself. Plus, there are changes in the seasons which gets everyone a little bit excited. That excitement comes from knowing that fall is filled with lots of fun holidays and activities. And of course it means that the winter holidays are just around the corner so everyone’s fall months are filled with that great anticipation. To make the most of these months with your preschooler(s), you should incorporate a number of different fall themes into your lesson plans.

Here are some great ideas for preschool fall themes that you might want to use this year (and for many more fall seasons to come):

Art projects with autumn leaves. There are so many different art projects out there using fall leaves that you could probably do one each day of the fall season and never run out of activities or the interest of your preschooler(s). A faux tree made of old leaves, a book of fall leaves and an old-fashioned fall wreath are just a few of the types of projects that you can create. These art projects are great because they enhance your children’s motor skills since they’ll be using painting, scissors cutting and other hands-on materials to make the projects. Plus, they’re great for teaching lessons about the changing seasons and the cycle of life.

Fall foods. Cooking is great for kids in so many ways, teaching them not only the basic life skill of making food but also other skills like math (when measuring) and reading (of recipes). Fall foods are great foods to incorporate into themed projects. Painting gourds, cutting pumpkins, and making pumpkin pie or pumpkin seeds are all terrific ways to spend an afternoon with youngsters. This is also a great way to start teaching kids about how different foods are good in different seasons which is an important nutritional lesson that is often overlooked in standard lesson plans.
Halloween. Halloween is a great holiday that lends itself well to many different activities. Make ghosts out of tissue paper, sew costumes and incorporate Halloween themes into coloring and other daily activities. You should also use Halloween themes as an excuse to get outside with the kids; go to a pumpkin patch and learn lessons about how pumpkins grow.
Thanksgiving. This is the other big fall holiday and it also lends itself well to many different activities. Art activities, lessons about sharing and the first Thanksgiving dinner and cooking traditional foods are all great ways to spend the last few weeks of November.
Columbus Day. This is a lesser-celebrated holiday but it’s great as a theme for lesson plans. Kids can learn geography and history at the same time that they are learning about diversity and other important social issues.

If there’s a holiday marked on your calendar, it’s probably a good idea to incorporate into your themed lessons plans. Don’t forget that it’s not just holidays that make fall so great though. The changing seasons really lend themselves well to a number of activities, both indoors and outdoors, which you can use to teach your children the things that you want them to be learning. They’ll probably remember these activities every fall to come for years.

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