I’d like to claim that autumn days are particularly great for getting outdoors for some fun and exploration, but in truth there are few days at any time of the year that aren’t great. Nevertheless, fall offers unique opportunities to feel and observe changes in the cycles of life and of the Earth. From cooling air and shortening days to falling leaves and hibernating animals, there’s a lot to discuss and discover during an autumn outing.
Besides the immeasurable benefits of being away from screens for a while, exploration activities such as those outlined below allow children to liberate their natural curiosity. As guides and educators, we can use this curiosity as a springboard to deeper investigation, questioning and thought.
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Let’s start with a scavenger hunt
Scavenger hunts are fantastic activities to get children really opening their senses to the world around them. The typical hunt involves collecting items, but if you add a photo element to the hunt, you can include adjectives and verbs to the list. If you are an at-distance teacher, a photo scavenger hunt can easily be assigned as fun homework and enables kids to explore their language mastery, creativity and emotions.
This hunt list from GoExploreNature.com is great for including things you can collect as well as intangibles to try to photograph.
Time to to get sensory
Now that you’re back from the scavenger hunt, a more in-depth exploration and experience with the things you’ve brought home is a nice extension of the outdoor activity.
With all the treasures spread out on a table or in an empty bin have some fun without any specific goal. Do the differing colours of the leaves and grasses attract attention? Or perhaps the textures and sounds of them? Perhaps the seeds, pinecones and acorns are intriguing, or the desiccated husks of deceased insects? A magnifying glass is good tool to have on hand.
A random exploration can easily morph into a discussion about seasons and Earth’s orbit and photosynthesis and seeds and germination and wildlife and hibernation and…
Speaking of textures and colours…
A couple of attractive and creative art activities you can do with your collection of leaves and grasses involve taking advantage of their natural textures and seasonal colours.
Leaf paintbrushes
Using both pliable and hard natural items dipped in paint to make prints and patterns is a method seen in art all the way back into prehistory. The results can be surprising, confounding, exciting and even inspiring.
This leaf paintbrush how-to from KiwiCo is a nice and simple introduction.
Leaf tea light
Another fun activity to do with grasses and leaves is the Autumn leaf tea light (KiwiCo. again). The only thing the instructions call for but don’t explain is “mod podge”. I found out it’s a craft item that is a blend of glue, sealer and finish that is painted on to projects. It seems to be available at dollar stores, craft stores and online retailers.
Some nature science to end the day
If you still have time at the end of the day, and you still have some items from your scavenger hunt that you haven’t used in the previous crafts, your young learners might enjoy any of these science-themed activities.
Exploring How Water Travels Through Leaves
If you really want a strong visualization of the way different leaves take up water, this is the experiment for you. Anticipate waiting a few days to see the best effects of water transport through leaves (from Buggy and Buddy).
Apple Oobleck, just for fun
Perhaps you’ve got a few more apples than you can conceivably eat after an Autumn apple-picking day? Turn a few into apple sauce, and then turn that apple sauce into oobleck. This apple sauce oobleck recipe from Little Bins for Little Hands has got it covered and includes some of the science behind the fun.
Resources
https://www.kiwico.com
https://littlebinsforlittlehands.com
https://goexplorenature.com
https://buggyandbuddy.com
IndieTeach has no affiliation of any kind with any of the sites and resources linked in this article
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