Fall

8 Easy & Inexpensive Leaf Activities for Kids

By Marnie Craycroft 27 Comments Filed Under: Activities Tagged With: Fall, Infant & Toddler, Kindergarten, Preschool, Seasons This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure for more info.

[Please scroll down for resources mentioned in this post.]

As I was thinking about Fall Activities for my 3 and 1.5-year-old, I discovered so many Easy, Inexpensive & Creative Leaf Activities on Pinterest, I decided I had to share my top 8 Easy, Inexpensive & Creative Leaf Activities.

Photos are sourced from respective blogs with a link back to the post. Please click through to their sites for more details!

8 Easy, Inexpensive & Creative Leaf Activities for Your Home & Classroom

Living Montessori Now has a great round up of activities including this one by To The Lesson! From practical life to math to science, you will find many Montessori inspired activities for your home and classroom.

Love the creativity in this leave activity from Full Circle. The greatest part is how the activity combines art and the senses. Children crumple dry leaves and create their own masterpiece! Process art at its best!

My Kids Make has two activities that I adore a Leaf Rubbing and a Leaf Connect the Dot. Leaf rubbing is easy to do and inexpensive. Take the kids out to gather leaves, pack paper, and crayons, and find a spot to rub leaves! A wonderful fall outdoor activity for children

These leaf prints from Kleas are gorgeous and so easy! Kids love this art activity. Go outside and gather leaves. Paint one side of the leave and make a gorgeous print.

One of my favorite blogs, Happy Hooligans, incorporates learning and movement into their fall activity. How beautiful is this spiral of leaves?

I love the simplicity and honesty in working with younger children in this fall activity post by Gigi's Joy. Another leaf printing idea but the post is worth the read!

This “foliage friends” from Family Fun @ Disney are too adorable not to include in this list. Kids can get so creative with this activity. I love watching their imaginations run wild!

This Leaf Sun Catcher from Adventures in Reading With Kids is simple and beautiful. I love the use of branches for the frame. Grab some contact paper and create away!

I hope we inspired you today!
Marnie

Explode a Pumpkin with Rubber Bands & Other Exciting Montessori Pumpkin Activities

By Marnie Craycroft 1 Comment Filed Under: Activities Tagged With: Fall, Life Science This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure for more info.

[Please scroll down for resources mentioned in this post.]

Are you looking for pumpkin activity ideas for your classroom or home? You have arrived at the right place, my Montessori friend! You will be please to know that this post includes loads of Montessori pumpkin activities!

Let me know what you think of these pumpkin activities! I tried to cover most areas of a Montessori early childhood classroom. I would love to hear any thoughts and ideas you have for adding to this pumpkin activities list.

Montessori Pumpkin Activities

Practical Life Activities

Pumpkin Guts Exploration from Stir the Wonder
Puffy Pumpkin Lacing from I Can Teach My Child
Pumpkin Pillow Sewing
Use a strainer to sift out pumpkin seeds in a sensory tub filled with rice or small beans
Roast and season pumpkin seeds for a snack (have kids help gut the pumpkin!)
Hammer tees into pumpkins (maybe the perfect seasonal fine motor work)
DIY Pumpkin Slime from Growing a Jeweled Rose

Sensorial Activities

Geo-pumpkin from Fun A Day
Pumpkin Patterns using stickers or stamps
Sort harvest gems

Math Activities

Basic numeration activity by cutting a pumpkin out, rolling dice, and using pumpkin seeds to match the roll
Replace card counters with pumpkin seeds
Measure circumference and diameter of various pumpkins
Grade pumpkins by size

Language Activities

Life Cycle of a Pumpkin Nomenclature Cards from Montessori for Everyone
Parts of a Pumpkin Nomenclature Cards from Montessori Printshop
Types of Pumpkins Cards from Montessori Printshop

Art Activities

DIY Pumpkin Puffy Paint from Growing a Jeweled Rose
Decorate mini pumpkins using melted crayons

Science Activities

Lifecycle of a Pumpkin paper plate craft
Grow a Pumpkin in a Pumpkin from Life with Moore Babies
Hands on Learn about Pollination
Experiment with Pumpkins & Rubber Bands (how may rubber bands will cause the pumpkin to explode?)

Geography Activities

Create Pumpkin Globes like these globes from The Creative Classroom

I hope we inspired you today!

Montessori Monthly Themes: Amazing, Fun, & Easy to Do

By Marnie Craycroft Leave a Comment Filed Under: Activities, At Home Tagged With: Fall, Holidays, Monthly Themes, Seasons, Spring, Summer, Winter This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure for more info.

[Please scroll down for resources mentioned in this post.]

This page includes Montessori monthly themes for preschoolers including Montessori Activities by Season and Montessori Activities by Holiday.

I hope this content helps you create amazing Montessori Monthly Lesson Plans!

My goal is to add to this monthly content so that you have dozens of Montessori theme ideas for each month of the year!

Montessori Month by Month Curriculum

The child's development follows a path of successive stages of independence, and our knowledge of this must guide us in our behaviour towards him. We have to help the child to act, will and think for himself. This is the art of serving the spirit, an art which can be practised to perfection only when working among children. – Dr. Maria Montessori

Montessori Winter Activities

It is the life of the crystal, the architect of the flake, the fire of the frost, the soul of the sunbeam. This crisp winter air is full of it. ~John Burroughs, “Winter Sunshine”

Montessori New Years Activities

Montessori Martin Luther King Jr. Activities

Montessori Valentine's Day Activities

Montessori St. Patrick's Day Activities

Montessori Earth Day Activities

Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of each. – Henry David Thoreau

Montessori Spring Themed Activities

Montessori Mother's Day Themed Activities

Montessori Memorial Day Themed Activities

Montessori Father's Day Themed Activities

Montessori Summer Themed Activities

Montessori July 4th Themed Activities

Montessori Fall Themed Activities

5 Fun Montessori Practical Life Fall Shelf

By Marnie Craycroft Leave a Comment Filed Under: Montessori Tagged With: Fall, Practical Life, Shelf Work This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure for more info.

[Please scroll down for resources mentioned in this post.]

If you are anything like me, refreshing shelf work is huge whether you are a homeschooler or in a classroom. Shelf work should get a refresher once a month at least to keep the kids interested and to honor “following the child”. In this case, I have a Montessori Practical Life fall shelf theme. I hope you enjoy these Montessori Practical Life Fall Shelf Ideas.

Check out my fall themed Rainbow letters!

“All our handling of the child will bear fruit, not only at the moment, but in the adult they are destined to become.” ~ Maria Montessori

Paperclip Tray

This tray is great because you can place it on the Math Shelf! Pretty simple. A small bowl or paperclips, a piece of chalk, a die, and a chalkboard. Have the child roll the die for the numerals to add (or subtract).

Related Read: Practical Life Activity with Corn

If the child rolls a “3”, the child then clips 3 paperclips together, and so on. Add the paperclips together to get the sum. This tray works fine motor skills and introduces math concepts in a concrete way.

Acorn Transfer Tray

I found plastic Christmas ornaments and decided to make a work from them! This tray has the ornament placed on a geometric solid base, a small bowl of acorn “gems”, and small tongs. You can use tweezers, too. Simply tweeze an acorn and drop it into the ornament!

Daisy Counters Tray

This tray is versatile, too. Like the Paperclip Tray above, this tray works the fine motor skills of “clicking” the counter while introducing numeration with counting. Honestly this idea came about when we were cutting the dead flowers from our yard. We started to count the daisies and group them into 2s, 5s, and 10s. Voila! We have a work!

I also introduced this tray with “leaf gems” from Michaels. Simple, small, and festive! This fall math activity with leaves is easy to put together and a fun variation on card counters.

Thank you for taking the time to read this Montessori Practical Life fall shelf post. Be sure to stop by our awesome Carrots Are Orange Facebook community for more inspiration! Lastly, please let me know what is on your shelf!

Marnie

PS. I have some super fun Halloween themed cutting strips in my shop! Check them out!

Make a Melted Pony Bead Sun Catcher

By Marnie Craycroft 9 Comments Filed Under: Montessori Tagged With: Elementary, Fall, Kindergarten, Preschool, Seasons This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure for more info.

[Please scroll down for resources mentioned in this post.]

I love the colors of fall. The turning leaves, the harvest, the light. I love all of it. This post includes a Make a Melted Pony Bead Sun Catcher activity, perfect to brighten your home with a little fall decor.

[Tweet “Make a Melted Pony Bead Sun Catcher”]

Melted Pony Beads Sun Catcher

Materials

Transparent and Opaque fall colored Pony Beads
Silicone Mini Leaf and Pumpkin Mold
Heat Source like an outdoor oven or grill works best to mitigate the toxins from melting plastic. We used our inside oven, cranked the fan, and opened windows and doors. The smell was a bit much so definitely over do it with the ventilation.

Approach

Decorate your pumpkins and leaves however you wish in the mold
Carefully place onto baking sheet
Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes
Allow time to cool
Display by mounting on a window, or drilling a hole into the sun catcher and threading string through for a hanging display

A fun and simple way to bring light and creativity to your child's day and into your home! Be sure to check out The Artful Parent's Melted Pony Bead Sun Catcher posts. They are wonderful and are sure to inspire you!

I hope we inspired you today!

Did you enjoy this post? Consider pinning it!

[pin_widget url=”https://www.pinterest.com/pin/117515871502674210/
“]

For More:

[pin_board url=”https://www.pinterest.com/carrotsrorange/” size=”header”]

Fun Fall Themed Pumpkin Sewing Activity for Preschoolers

By Marnie Craycroft 1 Comment Filed Under: Activities, Montessori Tagged With: Fall, Fine Motor Skills, Kindergarten, Practical Life, Preschool, Seasons This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure for more info.

[Please scroll down for resources mentioned in this post.]

Sewing a wonderful early learning activity for children. We recently used felt, yarn, and cotton balls to create a pumpkin. The great part about this activity is that you can adjust it to the age of the child with the type of needle, the type of thread, and how much the child owns the process. Here is how we did our Fall Montessori Activities – Pumpkin Activity for Preschoolers.

Fall Montessori Pumpkin Sewing Activity for Preschoolers

Materials

Orange felt, fabric, card stock, or construction paper
Large Needle
Paper Hold Punch (if completed with a younger child)
Yarn or String (depending on the younger child)
Cotton or Paper for stuffing
Scissors
Marker

Montessori Approach

Trace a pumpkin shape onto the orange felt, card stock, or construction paper
You or the child cut out the pumpkin shape
If using a blunt large needle, you won't be able to poke through the felt. I punched holes into the felt with a paper hole punch. So, for my 3.5-year-old, the exercise became more of a lacing activity. If you have an older child, you can use a standard needle and thread. You can also play with materials, using thinner felt pieces or cloth.
Demonstrate how to proceed by “sewing” with the yarn or string the two pumpkins together. We went around the pumpkin twice.
Leave a hole at the “stem” to stuff with cotton or paper
Color the stem or glue a brown/green piece of felt, paper, or fabric to create the look of the stem
Gently stuff the pumpkin
You can either glue the pumpkin shut at the stem, “sew”, or staple it closed

Other Fun Pumpkin Activities

Parts of the pumpkin
Explore the guts of a pumpkin
Bake pumpkin seeds
Pumpkin seed sensory bag
Pumpkin Playdough and Slime

Related Resource: Montessori Fall Activities Pack – Pumpkin Theme

Before you go, check out this DIY Heart Felt Pillows Sewing Activity for Kids!