Cooler weather, changing leaves, and pumpkin everything. Who’s ready for FALL? After what has seemed like an endless summer, there is so much to get excited about with this new season. Fall into some of these activities to incorporate important literacy concepts as you teach your kids about the Autumn season!
Falling into Books
Take a look at your child’s bookshelf and pick out any fall-related books. Think leaves, pumpkins, Halloween, or football. Join the Story Box’s recent book, The Littlest Family’s Big Day would be a great book to take out this time of year. The story takes place in the woods and incorporates leaves and outdoor elements that bring the Fall season to mind.
Set these books on a small table, in your child’s play room, or a cozy nook like your child’s favorite chair or beanbag. Having these books out and easily accessible will encourage your child to take a peak. Here are some other favorite fall books:
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| Little Acorn |
Create an Autumn Sensory Bin
It’s no secret that I am a HUGE fan of sensory bins! They give little hands a way to learn by interacting and incorporating their senses. Create a fall sensory bin by taking an empty container and using a Fall-themed filler like dried red, brown, and white beans or corn kernels. Then add some items for your child to find such as colorful leaves, small pumpkins, and acorns.
As your child plays with their sensory bin, work on language skills with little ones such as naming the items they find, working on words like “out” and “in” as they find objects, and using descriptive words (small, big, bumpy, smooth) to talk about how everything feels!
To incorporate literacy, ask your child to find an object that starts with a letter you name. For example, an acorn for the letter “A”. See my previous post on 5 Ways to Use a Sensory Bin for more ideas!
Play to Learn Preschool has some more amazing ideas for building your fall sensory box!
Story Scavenger Hunt
Enjoy the sweater weather by going on a scavenger hunt with your child! Write a list of things to find outside, such as an orange leaf, a squirrel, an acorn, and a pumpkin. This is a great activity for little ones to help increase their vocabulary as you point out and name the items on your list when you see them. Make sure to narrate and describe out loud, for example, “I see a big orange pumpkin!”. Older children can work on finding and checking the items off their list. When they come home, ask your child to write a sentence about each object. Or, to incorporate all of the objects they found on their list into a fall themed short story!
Happy Fall, Y’all!
Amy Yacoub, MS, CCC-SLP | Speech Pathologist
Proud Member of The Story Box Family
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