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Happy October!  We are excited for the arrival of cooler weather and hope this promotes some additional outdoor time for you and your family.  Fall also lends itself to some wonderful learning activities you can do with your little.

Leaf fun.  This is the time of year when some of the leaves can begin to change and fall.  See how many different types of leaves you can collect. What makes them the same or different?  Are some pointy and some rounded? How many different colored leaves can you find?  Try making a leaf pile and jumping in it or stomping through it to hear the different sounds leaves can make.

Pumpkins. Chances are you and many of your neighbors are acquiring pumpkins.  How many do you see on your daily walk? Count the pumpkins as you go.  If you have 5 pumpkins on your porch and you take away one, how many are left?  If you carve your pumpkins, the insides of pumpkins provide great sensory experiences for children. Have them help scoop out the insides.  Before throwing out the insides, scoop them into a bowl and have your child squish their hands through it.  See if they can find and pick out pumpkin seeds for roasting.  Have your child paint your pumpkin or draw the design they want carved.  Roast pumpkin seeds for a healthy snack. 

Apples.  To me apples are the essence of fall and lend themselves to all kinds of fun things to do.  Cut one apple in half lengthwise and one in half sideways.  What is different about the insides?  Use paint to make apple stamps on paper.  We love apple donuts at our house.  We cut apples in half sideways, hollow out the middle, and smear the edges with almond butter or sprinkle with cinnamon.

Fall collages.  Get construction paper and have your child cut out leaf shapes, apple shapes, pumpkin shapes, or whatever else they envision as fall and tape it to a window or door.  Get red, orange and yellow paper.  Have your little cut them into strips and then glue them together in paper chains.

Outside time.  Now that the weather is beginning to cool off it’s much more enjoyable to be outside. This is a great time to play in your yard, ride bikes, go for walks, and hunt for bugs or acorns or leaves. It’s the perfect time for picnic lunches in your yard or at a park and identifying shapes or animals in the clouds.  Read stories on a blanket in your yard.

Share books by flashlight to get in the spirit of the season. Some of our favorite book picks for the month of October:     

Five Little Pumpkins illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman

The Biggest Pumpkin Ever by Stephen Kroll

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams

Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert

Apples and Pumpkins by Anne Rockwell

Leonardo the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems

Leif and the Fall by Allison and Adam Grant