Fall is finally here! It’s my favorite time of year, so I’m usually planning and anticipating by late July. Unfortunately I live in a part of the country where Fall takes a little longer to arrive. Nothing says autumn like 85°F weather and 99% humidity!! But now it’s October and the days are getting cooler, pumpkins are everywhere (and in everything!) and I am ready! This month I’m excited to share our Autumn Tot School theme. I have activities planned for children of all ages … ok not much for the teenagers 🙂 but today I’d like to start with some Autumn Baby Activities for our littlest tots.

I like to call it ‘Tiny Tot School’ as these activities are ideal for children 6 – 18 months old. As always, watch your child oh so carefully since EVERYTHING goes in the mouth at this age. You know your child best, so please trust your instincts if you feel your child isn’t quite ready to perform an activity safely. But that’s enough with the disclaimers – let’s have some fun with our littles!

Autumn Treasure Basket

Are you familiar with the Montessori treasure basket concept? I mentioned it here, and I really couldn’t say enough good things about it. The treasure basket is simply a basket full of a variety of objects, usually centered around a theme. Often the baskets focus on providing a variety of textures, colors, or even smells. All you have to do is pick a theme and run through your house with a basket in search of items that fit!

Once your basket is prepared, present it to your child and allow him or her to explore at their own pace. Often this exploration will include tasting as much as touching, so be mindful of your objects and your level of observation. Personally I like to take the lesson a step further and discuss the objects as they are touched.

“That is a pumpkin, it has a pretty orange color! Do you see the stem? How does the pumpkin feel, rough or smooth?”

An older child may be able to answer some of your questions while the littlest tots seem to ignore them, but I guarantee they are all absorbing what you say.

For our autumn treasure basket I included the following items:

• An Orange cotton cloth
• Several Small pumpkins with beaded sides for enhanced texture
• wooden beads strung on a pipe cleaner (and firmly secured!)
• Several yellow and  orange spiked rubber balls
• small yellow and red toys
• a plastic toy apple
• An orange bath louffa
• a red ball
• a green toy pear

This was by far baby’s favorite activity. He spent at least 20 minutes working through it all and would probably have spent another 20 if he had the opportunity.

Extension Activities:

Hide objects under the cloth and feel them with hands only, good for older siblings, or play 20 questions with hidden objects.

Pumpkin Sensory Bag

This was such a fun activity, and although baby didn’t love it as much as I expected, Nugget certainly did! The best part of this activity is that the presentation can be easily modified to suit the child’s development. I offered the bag loose to baby, but a child who is interested in standing might enjoy having the bag taped to a window where he or she could stand to squish the contents around. On the other hand, it could also be secured to the tray of a highchair for a less mobile baby. Or try all 3 options and see which your child prefers!

Supplies:

• Large 1 Gallon Size Freezer Bag
• 1 Large container of hair gel – I like LA Looks from Walmart because it’s inexpensive
• Black Fun Foam Cut into Jack O Lantern Features.
• Orange Food Coloring, Glitter optional
• Clear Packing Tape

Instructions:

1. Cut out the jack o lantern features from fun foam and set them aside. I keep it simple with eyes, nose and mouth. Make sure they are large enough to be easily visible once they are within the bag.
2. Fill the bag halfway with gel and add a few drops of food coloring. Seal the bag and mix together until your desired color is reached. This is also the time to add glitter if you wish to do so.
3. Place the foam face pieces inside the bag and seal it with a thick layer of packing tape.

Puff Ball Pumpkins in a Jar

Seriously guys. This may be the easiest tot school activity EVER. I almost feel silly even listing it except it works SO well. This is actually an activity I devised a few years ago when Goose was little. He outgrew it but it has been used again for Nugget and most recently, baby. As you can see in the pictures, it’s just an old juice bottle and a bunch of large orange pom poms.

The idea is to have the child stuff the pompoms into the open lid of the jar. This is a fantastic fine motor activity because it requires a surprising amount of dexterity. It also teaches concepts like object permanence and problem solving as the child attempts to get the pompoms back out of the container. Baby loved this activity although it was quite challenging for him at 11 months, and Nugget still enjoys it at 2.

I have considered cutting a whole in the lower edge to make retrieving the pompoms easier but have feared that the kids would use it as a shortcut and the entire purpose of the activity would be defeated. It’s definitely an option to consider though. Overall just wash an old container, and find some pompoms that are just barely larger than the opening at the top. Show your child how to push the pompom inside and then let her go. You will be amazed by how a simple activity can captivate your child!

Fall Sensory Bottle

You know I love to make sensory bottles out of Voss water bottles and this unit was no exception. I’m constantly attempting to improve my sensory bottles and this one turned out particularly well. My goal was to use some leaf shaped sequins within the bottle and create a mixture that would allow them to slowly fall when shaken. It took a few attempts but the recipe below resulted in a nice relaxing pace, perfect for entrancing an overstimulated child.

Supplies:

• 1 Voss Water Bottle  or similar
• Super Glue
• Water
• Clear Hair Gel
• Gliter (I used a combination of orange and gold)
• Orange Food coloring
• Small Leaf Shaped Sequins in fall colors
• Light Corn Syrup

Instructions:

1. Begin by washing your bottle thoroughly, you don’t want anything growing in it down the road – yuck!
2. Fill the bottle 1/3 with water, then add roughly 1 Cup hair gel. Shake to combine.
3. Add food coloring, glitter and leaves until you reach your desired concentration.
4. Fill the remainder of the bottle with corn syrup, and repeat step 3 if neccessary.
5. Screw on the lid and shake the bottle thoroughly to observe the movement within your sensory bottle. Now is the time to make any adjustments if it isn’t quite right.
6. Remove the lid and apply superglue to the inside so that it is fully secured.

Did Your Child Enjoy These Autumn Baby Activities??

Are you excited about Fall? Have you conquered your Fall Bucket List?

Tell me all about it in the comments!