Fall Preschool Kids Activities for Fun & Learning

Well it's safe to say that summer time is over and fall is here. Fall is a wonderful time of year for children to have fun and learn new activities, songs and more. Some children entered the new routine of starting kindergarten. Every year brings on new challenges, new learning opportunities and new experiences.

As mentioned above, fall brings many wonderful benefits for all of us, but the crisp fresh air brings on colds and coughs. This is a good time to get a good hand washing routine in place if you don't have one already. Hand washing routines are very important throughout the entire year but especially when germs are spread more easily. Don't forget to remind the children in your care to not only wash their hands before they eat and after they use the bathroom, but especially after they cough, sneeze and blow their noses. This will help cut down on germs and sickness and benefit all.

Fall Activities and Recipes

We mentioned fall has wonderful opportunities for children to learn, so let's get to some of them.

One wonderful activity to combine physical exercise, social interactions, and intellectual development is as easy as a nature walk in the back yard or at a local park. Bring alone two shopping bags and tell the children to walk or run and find as many fall items as they can find. When the children have found all they can, or if the bags are full, return to the daycare centre, or if you are caring for children at home, return to your home. When you get back, this is a fantastic opportunity to have an education circle time. Pull out the different leaves, rocks, sticks, etc. and talk about what they are, what color they are, why are they on the ground, will they come back in the spring, what season comes next etc. Then you can take all those items and set them on a table with glue and a large sheet of paper for the whole class, or individual sheets for each child and have them create a fall collage. When the collage is finished it can be posted in the classroom for the children to look at and discuss for days to come. When a few days have passed you can use the collage in that days circle time and see how many of the items the children remember.

Sleepy-Time Fun: If you have children that nap, or work at a day care centre where nap times are an everyday routine, here is a fun little activity that brings so much joy to the children's day and actually settles them down. When pumpkins are out for purchase, pick one that is as round and sturdy as possible. Make sure you have a candle and a good carving knife available for this activity as well. Now you have a classroom activity/circle time all ready to go. First, make sure the children keep their hands away from the pumpkin and carve out the stem as usual to get to the seeds out. Then have each child scoop out the seeds with their hands or a spoon. Set the seeds in a strainer. Once the pumpkin is empty, wash the seeds and lay them on a paper towel to dry. Next discuss as a class what the teacher should carve in the pumpkin. (A face, a shape, pattern, etc.) Then, draw it up and carve it out while singing some fall songs with the children. When it's all carved out set the candle in it and tell the children that at nap time when it's all dark, you will light the pumpkin for them to look at while they lay down. Find a spot to set it where it is out of their reach but will be viewable for all of them. Also never leave the pumpkin unattended when lit. If there will not be an adult in the room at all times it is wise to blow the candle out.

When sleep time is over, a great snack would be to extend the activity from earlier that day and make yummy toasted pumpkin seeds with a bit of butter and salt. By this time they should be all dried off and ready to go in the oven. They only take a few minutes in the oven and it is a great experience for the children. The cooking of the seeds can and should all be teacher led, but the children will enjoy having such a big part of it all. You can serve the seeds alone, or for a heartier snack add veggies and dip or crackers and cheese with fresh juice or milk.