Signs of the changing seasons – cooler weather, Fall foliage, pumpkins at the Farmer’s Market – can also provide fun learning opportunities for kids of all ages; infant to preschool. Brookline families can turn the natural occurrence of changing seasons into fun activities and one-on-one time together.
It’s pretty common for most Brookline childcare programs to include seasons within the curriculum. This usually can take the form of seasonal selections for storytime, classroom decorations, art projects or special celebrations. Taking it one step further by providing your child with hands-on interaction with seasonal changes can help solidify their understanding of the information. Believe it or not, this is true for any child in Brookline, infant to pre-K and beyond.
The trick in exploring the seasons is to remember that children process information according to their developmental stage. An infant may be fully engaged by a walk around the neighborhood in their stroller – noticing the surroundings, feeling the cooler air on their skin, etc – while your preschool child might be more interested in raking and jumping into a pile of colorful Fall leaves.
Here are a few suggestions for sharing signs of changing seasons with your youngster :
- Vist a local farm or farmers market- Farms and farmers markets are great settings to see changes in season. Take turns with your child identifying produce or plants on the farm or in in the market that show Autumn is here. Make a “storybook” of your visit together, and have your child draw Fall crops you saw – apples, pumpkins, hay, squash, etc.
- Cook “Fall” foods – Brainstorm with your child on foods that make them think of the Fall – apple cider, pumpkin, cranberries, etc, choose a recipe using one of these ingredients and make it together. Younger children can help by getting supplies together, washing ingredients and stirring, while older children may be able to help with measuring or cutting ingredients with supervision. Enjoy your creation with the whole family.
- Explore Fall leaves – One of the most obvious signs of changing seasons is beautiful Fall foliage. There are so many activities you can enjoy with your child using them.
- Collect an assortment of leaves of different shapes, sized and colors. Arrange the leaves on a sheet of paper, and cover them with another sheet. Using one or more crayons, color the top sheet to create colorful leaf rubbings.
- Collect a variety of leaves from your yard or around the neighborhood. Ask your child to sort them any way they wish, by size, color, shape, texture, etc. Glue each group to a separate piece of paper, and when dry, staple the pages together to make a Fall Leaf scrap book
Tags: Brookline childcare, brookline infant, preschool brookline