Preschool Education & Everything Preschool

Do you use the terms “fall” and “autumn” interchangeably? If so, you are just like most other people in America who agree that the two words are meant to mean the same thing (the season that comes after summer and before winter). But there is another school of thinking which says that autumn and fall are two subtly different seasons. How many people agree with this depends on where in the country you are living. In some places, the seasonal shift between the two is too subtle to warrant a difference in the name. But in other places, such as New England, there is an obvious difference between autumn and fall and people will tell you that this means there are five seasons instead of four.

Fall is a terrific time to incorporate leaf crafts into kids’ daily activities. You can take kids outside to get some fresh air and physical activity while they collect the leaves. Then you can come indoors again and keep them busy with the crafts. Leaf crafts are fun and they also help to build motor skills in young children. Plus leaf crafts can be used in conjunction with learning other lessons like how the seasons change.

There are many different leaf crafts for kids and you can probably think up many more on your own but here are a few to get you started:

• Leaf rubbings. Take a leaf and place it on a table or desk. Cover it with a blank piece of paper. Kids can use charcoal or crayons to rub over the paper and the impression of the leaf will come out. This will seem magical to young children who can then draw or decorate the new leaf. A variation on this is leaf tracing.
• Leaf scrapbook album. Use construction paper and yarn to create a scrapbook. Kids can glue their leaves to each page to create their own album. One variation on this is to create a fall story, writing the text underneath each leaf on the page. Another variation is to have children glue one leaf on each side and to describe what is the same and what is different between the two leaves that are facing each other.
• Leaf Strings. For this you’ll need string or yarn and the leaves as well as a hole puncher. Punch holes in the tops of the leaves and then string them to make a decoration. Eventually, the leaves will crumble and fall off; you can use this to reinforce lessons about the changing of seasons and the way leaves fall off of trees.
• Leaf Wreath. All you need for this one is the leaves, some glue or tape and a paper plate or other round shaped object. Have the kids glue or tape their leaves to the plate to create a wreath (cut out the center to make it more wreath-like). Add decorations such as ribbon, glitter or coloring. Variations on this leaf craft include the Thanksgiving Wreath in which you write “things you’re thankful for” on the leaves or on the center of the plate where there aren’t any leaves.

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Your children are going to inherit the earth that we are living on today so you obviously want it to be as healthy as it can possibly be for them. Although it’s great that you’re doing your part to take care of the environment, it’s equally as important that you teach your children about the environment. If they learn form an early age about the importance of taking care of the environment and the ways that they can do so, they’ll be more likely to carry that behavior on into later years. Additionally, if they can do their part to help care for the environment now, they will feel productive and involved which helps to build self-esteem.

October just might be the most fun month there is as far as fall preschool themes go. It’s early enough in the year that there are still plenty of outdoor activities that can be done with preschoolers. It’s also early enough in the year that you’re not suffering the stress of the upcoming winter holidays so you can relax some and really enjoy creative lessons with your kid(s). But it’s a busy month with a lot of fun kid-oriented activities (mostly centering on Halloween) so there are plenty of different things that you can incorporate into the day to keep things fun and interesting.

What better time to teach your child about fall than when we’re right about to enter the midst of it? Fall is a great teaching tool because it applies to so many different areas of life. Not only do kids learn about the seasons, but they also learn about the nature behind the seasons changing. As kids get older, these lessons can be used again and again in different ways. For example, as adolescents, they will learn about literature and poetry and the images and lessons of fall will play a big part in that. And when it comes time to learn hard lessons about death and loss, your kids will have a better grasp on it if they can compare it to the changing of the seasons.

Fall is a great month to take your preschooler on a hike. Hikes are great because of the obvious physical exercise that they give to your child. They are also a terrific way to teach kids about nature. Kids can learn to interact appropriately with the plants and animals that live in your area and can gain an appreciation for the world around them. Hikes can also be used for many different lessons including teaching the skill of observation, learning about the culture of people who once lived in the area where you are hiking and starting to understand about the weather and terrain. Plus, taking your preschooler on a hike is a great bonding experience.

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