Fall Nature Play Ideas
With the changing leaves and cooler days, fall is a great time of year to explore nature for both sensory play and scientific inquiry. Play and the observations, discoveries and discussions that stem from it result in the best kind of learning.
Here are some ideas for exploring nature both indoors and out with your favorite Guidecraft products.
Combine Art and Nature
A simple process art and sensory play activity for both children and adults is to paint a pumpkin. To keep the painting activity in one area that's easy to clean while still giving your child freedom to stand and move as they paint, use a Kitchen Helper at a kitchen island or counter.
Go for a Nature Walk
Take your Wooden Dump Truck for a stroll and pick up sticks and stones along the way. Bring them back home for some nature loose parts play. Combine sticks and stones with play dough to make impressions and build small worlds for play with animal figurines. Use yarn to wrap sticks into nature wands. Paint your stones and place them out in your yard or keep them on a nature-themed shelf.
In preparation for a camping trip or in lieu of one, set up a Martha Stewart Camper Play Tent in the playroom, on the patio or in the yard for some cozy, fall-themed play fun.
Encourage Sensory Play with Natural Loose Parts
Take Treasure Tubes on your next walk or hike. Collect nature finds to curate for observation and nature journaling. Bring them back to your sensory table and combine with sand, water or dried rice for nature-based sensory play or small world play setup.
Placing found leaves on an LED Activity Tablet is a great way to look at and compare the shapes, colors and vein patterns of leaves.
Once you've observed your leaf finds, recycle them by using them in a nature-based art activity. Place leaves under paper and color over the paper with crayons to create leaf rubbings or place the leaves over paper and paint the leaves.
Take Big Branch Block Builders outdoors and combine with nature finds such as leaves to create new build possibilities.
PowerClix can be arranged with pine cones, sticks, leaves and other finds as part of a provocation to build planters or vases to contain the nature items.
Combine Nature and Block Play
Use Notch Blocks to build a mud kitchen. Pair with a bin to explore nature finds, make mud pies, potions or nature soups. A pot, pan, spatula or pitcher can be left out to extend play opportunities.
Magnification Blocks can be taken on a walk to get a closer look at plants and bugs. Bring back some leaves, observe and compare their different characteristics and discuss which type of trees they may have come from. This can be a fun activity for the whole family. Keep it to discussion and drawing for younger ones, while older children can draw and make notes in their nature journals.
