Fall may be a terrific time of year for fun crafts but you don’t want
to be so focused on the fun that you forget about the great educational opportunities
that the season presents. Sure, it’s great to carve pumpkins and make
Thanksgiving turkeys out of construction paper during these months. [...]]]>

Fall may be a terrific time of year for fun crafts but you don’t want
to be so focused on the fun that you forget about the great educational opportunities
that the season presents. Sure, it’s great to carve pumpkins and make
Thanksgiving turkeys out of construction paper during these months. But in addition
to these arts and crafts, you can come up with a number of different fall activities
which give your children great educational skills. In fact, there are fall activities
to cover all of the basic school subjects and then some.

Here are some educational fall activities for each subject:

Reading / Writing

• There are many different stories out there about fall.
  Look for those that are about the changing of seasons as well as those that
  relate to the fall holidays.
• Work on learning the alphabet by practicing with fall themes.
  For example, “P is for Pumpkin” is a good way to work on that
  particular letter.
• Make a fall story book. Paste leaves and other fall items
  into a scrapbook and then work with kids to write a story that relates to
  fall.

Science

• Go outside and observe the changing seasons with kids.
  Keep photo and written journals about these changes.
• Fall animals. Activities involving squirrels and acorns
  are great for teaching kids about animals and fall.

Social Studies

• Use the holidays such as Columbus Day and Thanksgiving to teach kids about
  history.
• Explore how different cultures explore holidays in different
  ways to teach kids about diversity.
• If you taught kids about Labor Day early in the season, you can reinforce
  these lessons by bringing them back up again. Point out that work
  and community are important educational areas at all times of the
  year.

Other subjects

• Music. Kids love music and they learn a lot from it so
  incorporate fall themes and music this season. One great activities making
  musical shakers out of gourds by cleaning them out and filling them with beans.
• Motor skills. The arts and crafts that are associated with
  fall themes are good lessons in and of themselves because they teach kids
  motor skills which are an important part of the rest of their education.
• Environmental lessons. Kids can learn environmental lessons
  during the fall months by getting out and exploring nature. Take kids hiking
  or camping before it gets too cold and use it as a way to teach them about
  how to treat the earth kindly and why that’s important.

Technorati Tags:educational, preschool, fall, autumn, activities, learning

Do you use the terms
“fall” and “autumn” interchangeably? If so, you are
just like most other people in America who agree that the two words are meant
to mean the same thing (the season that comes after summer and before winter).
But there is another school of thinking which [...]]]>

Do you use the terms
“fall” and “autumn” interchangeably? If so, you are
just like most other people in America who agree that the two words are meant
to mean the same thing (the season that comes after summer and before winter).
But there is another school of thinking which says that autumn and fall are
two subtly different seasons. How many people agree with this depends on where
in the country you are living. In some places, the seasonal shift between the
two is too subtle to warrant a difference in the name. But in other places,
such as New England, there is an obvious difference between autumn and
fall and people will tell you that this means there are five seasons
instead of four.

One of the
best ways to explain the difference between autumn and fall to your preschooler
is to use different crafts during each time to reiterate the important lessons
of that time. For example, since what’s most exciting about the autumn
weeks is the colorful leaves, you should enjoy lots of crafts that are related
to the leaves. Get outside with your preschooler and note the beauty of the
leaves and the changes that are taking place and how exciting it all is. Explain
that this feeling is related to autumn. Hiking and other activities which get
you outdoors are all a part of experiencing and enjoying autumn.

As the weeks go on, it will
get colder. Note the difference in the weather and explain that it’s fall.
One of the easiest ways for your preschooler to understand that it’s fall
is that you can point to the leaves now falling off of the trees. Your preschooler
is able to associate the fall of the leaves with the season fall. Point to this
difference to note the shift between the two time periods. You can also transition
to new crafts that don’t focus so much on the colorful leaves of fall.
Start planning for Halloween crafts and Thanksgiving crafts since these are
what you will mostly be doing during the fall. You will probably also spend
more time indoors which you can explain to your preschooler is something that
you do in fall and winter.

Of course, in most
places, people think of fall and autumn as the same season. If you think that
your child is too young to understand the subtle difference, you may not want
to harp on it. But if your child brings it up, asking about the difference since
you use both words, feel free to discuss it. Even if your preschooler
doesn’t quite understand the subtleties, looking for the differences is
a good exercise in observation.

Fall is a terrific
time to incorporate leaf crafts into kids’ daily activities.
You can take kids outside to get some fresh air and physical activity while
they collect the leaves. Then you can come indoors again and keep them busy
with the crafts. Leaf crafts are fun and they [...]]]>

Fall is a terrific
time to incorporate leaf crafts into kids’ daily activities.
You can take kids outside to get some fresh air and physical activity while
they collect the leaves. Then you can come indoors again and keep them busy
with the crafts. Leaf crafts are fun and they also help to build motor skills
in young children. Plus leaf crafts can be used in conjunction with learning
other lessons like how the seasons change.

There are many different
leaf crafts for kids and you can probably think up many more
on your own but here are a few to get you started:

• Leaf
  rubbings.
  Take a leaf and place it on a table or desk. Cover it with a blank piece of
  paper. Kids can use charcoal or crayons to rub over the paper and the impression
  of the leaf will come out. This will seem magical to young children who can
  then draw or decorate the new leaf. A variation on this is leaf tracing.
• Leaf
  scrapbook album.
  Use construction paper and yarn to create a scrapbook. Kids can glue their
  leaves to each page to create their own album. One variation on this is to
  create a fall story, writing the text underneath each leaf on the page. Another
  variation is to have children glue one leaf on each side and to describe what
  is the same and what is different between the two leaves that are facing each
  other.
• Leaf
  Strings.
  For this you’ll need string or yarn and the leaves as well as a hole
  puncher. Punch holes in the tops of the leaves and then string them to make
  a decoration. Eventually, the leaves will crumble and fall off; you can use
  this to reinforce lessons about the changing of seasons and the way leaves
  fall off of trees.
• Leaf
  Wreath.
  All you need for this one is the leaves, some glue or tape and a paper plate
  or other round shaped object. Have the kids glue or tape their leaves to the
  plate to create a wreath (cut out the center to make it more wreath-like).
  Add decorations such as ribbon, glitter or coloring. Variations on this leaf
  craft include the Thanksgiving Wreath in which you write “things you’re
  thankful for” on the leaves or on the center of the plate where there
  aren’t any leaves.

Technorati Tags:leaf crafts, children, kids, crafts, activities, fall, preschool

Your children are
going to inherit the earth that we are living on today so you obviously want
it to be as healthy as it can possibly be for them.
Although it’s great that you’re doing your part to take care of
the environment, it’s equally as important that you [...]]]>

Your children are
going to inherit the earth that we are living on today so you obviously want
it to be as healthy as it can possibly be for them.
Although it’s great that you’re doing your part to take care of
the environment, it’s equally as important that you teach your children
about the environment. If they learn form an early age about the importance
of taking care of the environment and the ways that they can do so, they’ll
be more likely to carry that behavior on into later years. Additionally, if
they can do their part to help care for the environment now, they will feel
productive and involved which helps to build self-esteem.

You can also work conversations
about the environment in to your other daily activities whenever
they come up. When you see litter on the ground, pick it up (as appropriate)
and explain why it is that you’re doing this. Of course, you’ll
also need to explain about what items shouldn’t be picked up from the
ground and why. But there are dozens of things that you do every day when interacting
with the world that are great as learning lessons about the environment. For
example, every time that you fill the car up with gas is a time that you can
discuss the environment and the impact of vehicles on the environment. Reinforce
those lessons by walking, bicycling or using public transportation whenever
possible and reiterate to your child that you are helping the environment when
you do that.

In addition to these kinds
of daily lessons, you should take the time to get your child out into nature.
An appreciation of nature goes a long way towards healthy behavior towards the
environment. Go on hikes with your child. Go camping. At the very least, get
out to the park once a week and play in the grass. It’s important that
your child is not removed from the nature around him or her. You can reiterate
lessons about the environment during these times, but it is
actually just the experience of getting out and appreciating nature that these
times will really be all about. Take photos on these expeditions to use in craft
lessons later that reinforce the importance of the environment.

Learning about the
environment can also be done in traditional education ways such as
reading books and watching videos. There is a lot of good material out there
these days to help young children learn about the environment. Combine these
with crafts to get the point across. For example, take the photos of nature
from your hike and use them to create a story book with your child that has
a message about the environment. Of course, the learning is going to start with
you so practice good environmental habits yourself if your
want your child to really learn these lessons.

Technorati Tags:blog action day 2007, enviornment, children, kids, education

October
just might be the most fun month there is as far as fall preschool themes go.
It’s early enough in the year that there are still plenty of outdoor activities
that can be done with preschoolers. It’s also early enough in the year
that you’re not suffering the stress [...]]]>

October
just might be the most fun month there is as far as fall preschool themes go.
It’s early enough in the year that there are still plenty of outdoor activities
that can be done with preschoolers. It’s also early enough in the year
that you’re not suffering the stress of the upcoming winter holidays so
you can relax some and really enjoy creative lessons with your kid(s). But it’s
a busy month with a lot of fun kid-oriented activities (mostly centering on
Halloween) so there are plenty of different things that you can incorporate
into the day to keep things fun and interesting.

Halloween
is the big October theme that you’ll probably spend a lot of
lessons focusing on. There are many fun things that you can do with this theme.
Art projects galore spring from Halloween. Witches’ hats and pirate swords
can be made from construction paper. Counting and coloring activities can be
done with pumpkins and goblins. Halloween songs are almost countless in number.
But there are also plenty of lesser-known things that you can teach kids using
this theme. For example, even though your kids are going to be eating lots of
candy during this time, you can teach them about the importance
of nutrition. This is where moderation comes in and kids can learn
that it’s okay to indulge sometimes but not to go overboard. Similarly,
haunted houses and scary Halloween themes can be used to teach kids about good
fear vs. bad fear. Think outside of the costume box when you’re
coming up with Halloween theme activities this October.

October may be a
great month for holiday themes but that’s not all that’s going on
in October. In most places, the weather is changing dramatically with leaves
turning colors and falling off of the trees. This makes October
a terrific month for lessons about the weather, nature and seasons.
This is good for science lessons and can be incorporated into art activities
as well. If it’s warm enough to get outside with the kids, you can have
them do observations about the changing weather. Fall animal themes
are also great in October. For example, squirrels may still be seen
out and about which is great for lessons about how animals store food and how
some hibernate in the winter. This even lends itself well to lessons about how
our own bodies change in the winter.

As you can see,
October is a fun month that allows for many different preschool themes. Like
all other months, these themes are great for art, reading, writing and singing
activities. However, they are also great for teaching social studies and science
lessons. See what October lessons you can find out there and
then expand on them with your own creativity to make October a fun and
educational month for the kids.

Technorati Tags:preschool fall themes, october, seasons, themes, preschool, kids, children, activities

What better time
to teach your child about fall than when we’re right about to enter the
midst of it? Fall is a great teaching tool because it applies
to so many different areas of life. Not only do kids learn about the seasons,
but they also learn about the [...]]]>

What better time
to teach your child about fall than when we’re right about to enter the
midst of it? Fall is a great teaching tool because it applies
to so many different areas of life. Not only do kids learn about the seasons,
but they also learn about the nature behind the seasons changing. As kids get
older, these lessons can be used again and again in different ways. For example,
as adolescents, they will learn about literature and poetry and the images and
lessons of fall will play a big part in that. And when it comes time to learn
hard lessons about death and loss, your kids will have a better grasp on it
if they can compare it to the changing of the seasons.

One thing
that you can do with your child is to keep a journal throughout the season.
This may be a written journal, a photo journal or both. You may keep
it daily, a few times each week or just once per week. Each time that you go
out, you will focus on looking at certain things in the neighborhood. For example,
there may be a big tree at the end of your block that you journey out to each
day. You’ll take a picture and write down observations about what you
see. At the end of the fall season, your child will have an entire book of observations
that he or she made. You will be able to see how the trees changed, how the
weather altered, and what other differences took place because of the changing
of the seasons. This will really help to reinforce the seasonal changes that
your child might not be able to see on a day-to-day basis. Plus, this
kind of observation is great for developing a science background for your child.

Of course, it’s
not just the changing of the leaves that fall is all about. Another
important fall lesson is that it’s a time when we normally start to eat
different foods. Watermelon and other summer foods are out and we eat
more squash and pumpkins. We may also eat more stews and foods for warmer weather.
Learning about fall foods will help your kids to learn about nutrition
and how we eat different things in different seasons to give our bodies a well-rounded
diet. Kids can also learn about cooking during the fall months and cooking is
great for all sorts of different lessons that kids need to learn. While cooking
fall foods, you’ll have reason to discuss what importance the different
foods have to different cultures and you’ll have an open doorway for teaching
your child about important fall holidays like Thanksgiving.

By teaching your
child about fall from a young age, you’ll be teaching him or her many
different lessons. Learning about the change of seasons will be the most important
of these lessons because it will apply learning to understand the seasons (or
cycles) of life. But there will also be many minor lessons learned that will
help your child with different areas of life for years to come.

Technorati Tags:fall activities, preschool, children, kids, fall, autumn

Fall is a great month
to take your preschooler on a hike.
Hikes are great because of the obvious physical exercise that they give to your
child. They are also a terrific way to teach kids about nature. Kids can learn
to interact appropriately with the plants and animals that [...]]]>

Fall is a great month
to take your preschooler on a hike.
Hikes are great because of the obvious physical exercise that they give to your
child. They are also a terrific way to teach kids about nature. Kids can learn
to interact appropriately with the plants and animals that live in your area
and can gain an appreciation for the world around them. Hikes can also be used
for many different lessons including teaching the skill of observation, learning
about the culture of people who once lived in the area where you are hiking
and starting to understand about the weather and terrain. Plus, taking
your preschooler on a hike is a great bonding experience.

In addition to learning about
their own bodies and the importance of physical fitness, kids can learn about
the world around them through hiking. When you take your preschooler on a hike,
you’re likely to run into a number of animals out in the wilderness. You
can teach your children about the birds, rodents and wildlife that you may see
on the hike. Additionally, you and your preschooler can study the plant life
in the area to learn more about that kind of nature. This will not only be a
great science education for your preschooler but will also teach him or her
to interact kindly with the earth. Hiking is a great time to teach your
kids about the environment. And of course fall is a great time for
other hiking lessons since the area is changing so much.

You can explore these changes
(such as the new colors the leaves) with your preschooler during a hike. Learning
to be observant is one of the key tools needed for studying science.
You can also use this experience as a springboard for other lessons. Watch the
weather changes. Do some research yourself about the native people who used
to live in the area so that you can teach your child about this. Study the terrain
and talk about the geology of the area. Kids love to collect rocks and leaves
to take home for art projects. Make a diorama about your hike to reinforce the
lessons that were learned. Alternatively, take a camera along with you when
you and your preschooler go hiking. Kids’ cameras give great motor skills
and encourage your children’s creativity.

And of course you’ll
be able to take pictures on the hike to capture the memories that you are making
while you are out there. Even if you aren’t actively using the
hike to teach your child specific lessons, you will be creating a special experience
between the two of you that will last a lifetime. Many great conversations
happen on hikes. This may be something that you can use to continue to build
and grow your relationship with your children over time.

Technorati Tags:hiking with kids, children, physical education, preschool, hiking

Computers are not
the wave of the future; they are the way that we operate right here and right
now. Because of this, it’s important to make use of computer software
as early on as you can in your child’s education. Preschool software
is designed to get your [...]]]>

Computers are not
the wave of the future; they are the way that we operate right here and right
now. Because of this, it’s important to make use of computer software
as early on as you can in your child’s education. Preschool software
is designed to get your children used to using computers so that they’ll
be able to maximize their learning potential in the years to come. Preschool
software also makes use of multiple methods of learning to make sure that your
child learns quickly in the formative years when education is picked up quickly.
And preschool software is also great for parents because it enhances the learning
process and gives you more tools for educating your child.

In addition to preparing
your child for the years to come, preschool software is great for the
education that your child needs right now. When appropriately selected
to match her developmental stage and to coincide with the rest of her preschool
curriculum, preschool software can actually teach your child some
of what she needs to know. It makes use of multiple types of learning styles
to really help your child develop her brain in a variety of ways. Audio tools
can be used to enhance language skills and to use music for improving preschool
curriculum. Video tools can be used to engage your child’s attention and
assist with visual learning. And interactive preschool software can help your
child’s kinesthetic learning abilities. By using preschool software to
develop your child’s different methods of learning, you can help her to
adapt a multi-modal approach to learning that will make it easier for her to
learn her preschool curriculum. And it will also help her learning in the future.

And preschool software
doesn’t just help your child; it helps you as a parent. Preschool
software provides you with a number of different tools for improving your child’s
learning. This is great for the home school parent who wants to make
use of as many tools as possible for his child’s education. And often,
this software comes with helpful tips and resources that make educating your
preschooler even easier. Of course, this does require some additional work.
You’ll want to make sure that you understand the software and review it
before using it along with your preschooler. But the advantages far outweigh
the changes you’ll have to make to incorporate preschool software into
your child’s life.

Technorati Tags:preschool, software, games, education, learning, pre-k, homeschooing

LapBooks
are a terrific part of a good home preschool program. Lapbooks combine
all of the work done in a single subject area to really pull it together for
your child. They can be reviewed at later dates to make sure that learning is
cumulatively building itself. [...]]]>  

LapBooks
are a terrific part of a good home preschool program. Lapbooks combine
all of the work done in a single subject area to really pull it together for
your child. They can be reviewed at later dates to make sure that learning is
cumulatively building itself. But more than this, they give your preschooler
(and older kids as well) something to look at where they can see their progress.
This can be a great source of pride which allows children to be more successful
in their learning over the long run. And they’re fun for you to put together
with your child; they basically take the joy of scrapbooking and apply it to
education.

And she will definitely
want to show off her lapbooks. Children of all ages, and especially preschool
children, love to be proud of themselves. They like showing off their independence
and their knowledge to others who are supportive of their developmental growth.
So whenever favorite aunts and uncles, family friends and grandparents come
to visit, you can pull out the lapbooks so your child can show off
all that she knows. She’ll be proud of herself which will encourage
her to continue on with her studies, learning more so that she’ll have
more to share. And as you watch her sharing all that she’s learned, you’ll
be proud of her … and maybe even a little bit proud of yourself for all
of the education that you’ve already given to her.

Besides being a
terrific tool for compiling your child’s work and encouraging her to continue
it, the lapbooks are a great activity that you can share with your
child. They’re a part of the learning process that is truly just
fun to do. You and your child can work together in scrapbook style to get everything
put together. And when your child looks back on what her home school education
was like, she’ll probably remember these times as fun. Add to them by
creating a ritual like listening to music, making and eating pop corn together
or going shopping for stickers to add to the lapbooks. These little touches
will make creating the lapbooks a shared experience that you’ll both
look forward to … and then look back on fondly!

Technorati Tags:lapbooks, preschool, education, learning, homeschool, kids, children, pre-k, activities