Learning is Everywhere: October

Introduce your baby to the outdoors as you welcome a new season. Allow her to touch different items outside and use different words to describe what she sees and hears. (“Hear the crinkle of the dried leaf?” or “Do you feel the wind blowing?”) If a child has a hard time grasping, assist them in the process or have other children work together with them. Touch the leave to her skin, crinkle the leaf in her hand or near her ear. Creative Thinking and Expression

Outdoors is a great opportunity to introduce new vocabulary words through braille, sign language, or picture cards. Give your baby the words to explain what is can be observed through your senses. Compare what you observe to what the outside environment was like last month. For example, “Do you remember hot the sun felt a few weeks ago? Now it feels much cooler on my skin.” Language and Literacy

Help your baby notice the outside moving objects. Draw his attention to the leaves blowing in the wind, the birds hopping from branch to branch, the children on their bicycles. Give him details for what he is seeing.  (“Do you see that squirrel?  He is hunting for acorns on the ground so he can eat. He is a hungry squirrel!”) Language and Literacy

Exploring the great outdoors often can relax a child,  stimulate their senses, and sometimes can even increase their concentration! Use this as an opportunity to increase vocabulary with picture cards, word card, braille or sign. Explain verbally or through sign what you are seeing as you go on your walk. Language and Literacy

Lay a rope on the ground and have your toddler follow or walk directly on it. Start off with it in a straight line and then move it to different shapes (zig-zag, circle, wiggly, etc.). With it in a straight line, ask him to show how he can move across the rope if he were pretending to be an animal, such as a turtle or kangaroo. What other ways to cross the rope can he discover? Health, Wellness and Physical Development

Go on a treasure hunt! Using a bucket, basket, or even a cup, explore the park, a walking trail, or the back yard and hunt for nature’s treasures, such as pine cones, acorns, sticks, small rocks, or leaves. As your toddler collects different items, help him identify the item and where it came from. Gather different items for him and place them in his hand or near him to grasp, describing the different textures.  Scientific Thinking

Play ball with your toddler. Stand across from him and kick the ball to him, then have him kick it back to you. Next, throw the ball, and then bounce it. What is his favorite way to pass the ball?  How far can he pass it? How high can it go?  Health, Wellness and Physical Development

Using items from outside, such as leaves, acorns, pine cones, or sticks, ask your preschooler to compare each against the other. Together, sort and discuss the items by asking (either via pictures, gestures, talking or signing) questions like, Which item is larger? Which is smaller? Where did it come from? How did it get to where he found it? Help her identify the different shapes and sizes of one item (such as several acorns). Scientific Thinking 

Assistive technology devices can aide in outdoor experiences. Taking pictures of the items you found so your child can sort and manipulate the pictures on their device. You can use your preschooler’s interests to get her involved in this experience by comparing the sizes and shapes of the items from nature with her favorite toys. Include the items from nature in her toys for a period of time to allow them time to explore and investigate it’s properties. This allows for open ended learning experiences that build creativity and confidence. Scientific Thinking

Encourage your preschooler to use a magnifying glass to examine found outside objects. Ask her what she sees when she looks at different objects using the magnifying glass. Does she see anything with the magnifying glass that she couldn’t see without it? How different do items look if she holds the magnifying glass close to it, or holds it far away?  Scientific Thinking

With a piece of paper and a crayon, make rubbings of different textures outside. Have your kindergartner lay the paper across the item (such as the bark of a tree) and rub the crayon over the paper. Talk about what appears. Try another item, such as a leaf, and talk about the different textures each made on the paper. Compare the item with the rubbing–What part of the item can she see on the paper? Was one easier to do than the other? Why?  Scientific Thinking

Help your kindergartner draw a map of his favorite outdoor location. Show him a regular map (from a local telephone book or library) and explain that each location has a name, and provides a path (roads) for getting from one place to the next. Show him landmarks (airports, parks, hospitals, etc.) on the map and explain they are important places on a map. Accompany him around his favorite outdoor place and encourage him to draw paths and landmarks. For example, make a path from the landmark of the porch to the landmark of the swing. Add new words to his vocabulary by describing the sights, sounds and smells with picture cards, signing, or talking to your kindergartner. Creative Thinking and Expression

Take advantage of the sun by creating shadow monsters!  Ask your kindergartner to create different shadow shapes using her body and encourage her to watch what happens to her shadow when she moves. How does it change when she holds items in her hand (like a ball) or opens her jacket, or holds your hand? Can the two of you create your own special shadow monster together? Ask her about her shadow monster, such as what sounds the shadow monster makes, and what it might want to eat for breakfast. Encourage her to make smaller shadow monsters by using only her fingers.  Approaches to Learning Through Play