Fall Fun with Kids

Falling leaves and falling temperatures mean that fall is almost here, a favorite time of year for so many people in Middle Tennessee.

Here are some activities that your kids will love this fall. You can feel confident that you are spending quality time with your children while also working on critical developmental milestones.

Go camping in the backyard. Have your children collect all the things you will need for a backyard adventure. This can be a great way to work on vocabulary they may be less familiar with.

Carve a pumpkin. Completing this activity as a family encourages creativity and self-confidence in your child and their perception of self. It’s a great fine motor and sensory messy play activity, as well.

Make s’mores. Encourage your child to create the directions and lead you in compiling this sweet dessert, while collaborating on this multitude of yummy tastes and smells to awaken the senses.

Play in leaves. Piling up leaves and jumping in them is a wonderful social and gross motor play activity.

Go on a nature walk. Look for acorns, pinecones, and crunchy leaves. This activity will encourage your child to use all of their sense to describe their environment and provide an excellent opportunity to explore.

Make hot chocolate together. Allow the child to help with making the hot chocolate, and then encourage them to show a friend to work on sequencing tasks.

Paint a gourd. Let your child’s creativity flow. Painting silly faces on gourds will provide an excellent opportunity to talk about emotions and body parts; it’s a great sensory activity, too.

Bob for apples. It might get a little chilly, but bobbing for apples is excellent for the development of gross motor and eye-’mouth’ coordination.

Go on a scavenger hunt. Scavenger hunts aid children in following simple one and two step directions through play!

Climb a tree together. Climbing is a wonderful activity to encourage upper and lower body coordination while building strength and endurance. Invite your child to create a story about jumping or swinging through the trees like a monkey or squirrel.

String popcorn. Stringing popcorn supports increased fine motor skills while presenting a wonderful opportunity to work on patterns when using a variety of flavors (caramel popcorn, butter popcorn, cheddar popcorn).

Rub leaves. Gather some of your favorite leaves, lay them flat under the white paper, and rub crayons over them to create a beautiful masterpiece while developing your child’s writing skills.

Make caramel apples. After making those delicious desserts together, prompt your child to describe the substances (sticky, crunchy, sweet).