When you help your child observe and celebrate changes in nature, you’re also teaching him or her science concepts in a fun way. One of the easiest ways to do this: Talk to your child about leaves before autumn color changes occur. What different shapes are they? Are the green colors in the leaves all the same? If not, which ones look more yellow-green? Blue-green?
As the leaves turn colors, what hues are they? Yellow? Orange? Red? As the leaves fall on the ground, ask your child if he or she noticed some trees where that doesn’t happen, looking at a fir tree as an example. PreschoolExpress.com shares ways to explain the process of leaf changes in age-appropriate ways, sharing facts such as this one: “Trees are busy during spring and summer soaking up sun, water and oxygen.” Check the Preschool Express page for more ways to explain the process to your preschooler, and consider sharing its poem about leaf changes with your child.
We’re Going on a Leaf Hunt (and more!)
This is the title of a book by Steve Metzger where three friends go on a fun adventure, searching out leaves by hiking over a mountain and through a forest. The text rhymes and fun sound effects are included to grab your preschooler’s attention. And what will the adventurers do with all of these leaves? You can find out by listening to the book read aloud, with page illustrations included via video.
Other books to consider include:
- Mouse’s First Fall by Lauren Thompson: Mouse and Minka go out to play, finding red, yellow, orange and brown leaves—some pointy, some round. They soon discover that fall is a great season. Will Mouse take a great leap? Find out!
- Arthur Jumps into Fall by Marc Brown: Arthur has been given a very special job. He needs to rake the leaves in his yard into a pile. He does, but then the temptation to jump into them is too big—so he needs to start all over. His friends come over, and they help him rake a second time ... and you can probably guess what happens next!
- Look What I Did with a Leaf! By Morteza E. Sohi: This book will help your child to “use nature’s bounty to create fanciful animals and natural scenes.” If your child enjoys making art, then this book is a natural choice.
Fall Leaf Activities
There are plenty more ways to use leaves as fun learning tools. A homeschooling site has collected 36 ways for you to celebrate fall leaves with your child through preschooler crafts and activities. As just one example, you can make interesting leaf art by collecting an assortment of fallen autumn leaves, then pressing and drying them (a link is provided to show how). You can then decorate the leaves with metallic Sharpie markers before gluing them on poster board. You can also have your child decorate the poster board in the spaces around the leaves using crayons, colored pencils or markers.
Looking for more ways to enrich your child’s learning and life? Horizon Education Center provides affordable quality care, including educational and enrichment opportunities for children in the following Northeast Ohio locations.
