Autumn, with its wonderful riot of colours and weather changes, is an ideal time for children to observe and explore the natural world. Use a project on autumn to help children to make sense of their environment, the seasons and cycles that occur in the natural world, and encourage them to use all their senses as they investigate their surroundings.
Adult-led activities
See the signs
Combine walks with a close look at the signs of autumn. In preparation for the activity, take small groups of children on walks to familiar places, such as a local park or the outdoor area of the setting, to look at natural things. Before setting off, discuss with the children about taking care of the environment, not picking things that are still growing, and examining living things carefully. Find a variety of leaves and fallen seeds to take back to the setting.
Key learning intentions
Investigate objects and materials by using all of their senses Show care and concern for others, for living things and the environment
Adult:child ratio: 1:up to 3
Resources
* Conkers in their outer prickly shells; acorns with cups; sycamore seed planes * leaves of different kinds, colours and stages of decay * a collecting bag or a paper plate and glue stick for each child * camera, sketch pads and pencils * reference books
Activity content
* Show and discuss with the children the autumn materials.
* Encourage the group to look carefully at the leaves and ask each child to choose a leaf and talk about it.
* Draw the children's attention to the different shapes of the leaves, indicating that they came from different trees, and their varying colours.
* Handle conkers in shells and compare with acorns and sycamore seeds.
* Follow this with an observation walk to look for signs of autumn.
* Ask the children to find interesting things and encourage them to use the glue to attach each item to the plate to make a collage.
* Help children to use reference books to find out the names of the leaves or seeds and identify as many of the items as they can.
Extending learning
Key vocabulary
Brownish, crinkly, prickly, shiny, rough, smooth, stalk, leaves, twigs
Questions to ask
Do any of these leaves have the same shape? Can you talk to your friend on the phone and describe your collage to her? What words can we use to describe the feel of all these seeds? What is safe to pick up? What should we not pick up? Do you know the names of any of these seeds? Can you find any of these leaves in this picture? How is this leaf the same as the one in the picture? Can anyone find a conker? An acorn? A sycamore key? How can we stick this conker on to the plate? What does the sycamore key do when you throw it in the air?
Follow-up activities
* Use photographs and drawings to create an album about the seasons. Take photographs of children wearing different clothing outdoors and the outdoor area and sky changes. Continue adding to the book during the year, making sure that the children are aware that they can contribute their own experiences and words to the album.
* Make a short path board game using photographs taken on the walk. Create the path by using ten coloured sticky squares arranged in a straight line with a start and finish. Put a conker on every other square and acorns on the remaining spaces. Use a dice to move along the path collecting conkers and acorns as you go. Children can count or compare their collections.
* Put a large tree branch in a bucket of sand and ask the children to decorate it using a range of collage materials to represent autumn leaves, fruit, berries and fir cones.
* Create leaf shadows by placing a leaf on a piece of paper and drawing across the edges of it with a soft crayon or a finger dipped in dry powder paint.
* Use a hammer to flatten the end of a twig to make it fibrous and then use as a paintbrush or writing instrument.
* Give each child a 1m piece of string with the ends knotted together.
Spread the circles out on to the grass, under a tree or on a path, and get the children to observe and describe what they find in their circles - perhaps tiny insects, leaves, sand, flowers and litter.
* Share the seasonal story and poem on the back of the Nursery World poster and try out the seasonal recipe.
Recycling paper
Using old paper to make new paper helps children understand the concept of recycling and conservation. Aim to make the activity as interactive and multi-sensory as possible. Involve the children as paper makers and 'doers'
and not as watchers.
Key learning intentions
Respond in a variety of ways to what they see, hear, smell, touch and feel Explore colour, texture, shape, form and space in two or three dimensions
Adult:child ratio 1:up to 4
Resources
* Magazines and newspapers (if you use only newspapers, the made paper is rather grey) * a plastic bucket and plastic washing-up bowl * wooden spoons or spatulas * potato mashers and sieves *pieces of towelling or flannels, one for each child * two wooden pastry boards * small leaves, seeds, grasses and flower petals
Activity content
* Stage one Ask the children to tear the newspapers into small pieces and put them into a bucket until it is half full. Pour in enough warm water to just cover the paper, and stir. Leave the mixture for an hour, stirring occasionally. Add a few drops of food colouring if you want to change the colour of the new paper. Meanwhile, ask the children to collect some seeds, leaves and berries to press into their paper.
* Stage two Encourage the children to stir and mash the mixture in the bucket. When the mixture becomes squishy, drain any excess water through a sieve, put the mixture in the washing-up bowl and pour in a little clean water. Give each child some handfuls of the squeezed paper mixture on a flannel, and ask them to flatten the mixture using a wooden spoon or spatula. Ask them to press some seeds or berries on to the flattened mixtures.
* Stage three Pile up the flannels on one of the boards, put the second board on top and balance some heavy books on top of that to squeeze out the water. When most of the water has oozed out, separate the newly made paper pages and leave on the flannels to dry.
Extending learning
Key vocabulary
Touch, squeeze, stir, flatten, soft, soggy, damp, wet, dry
Questions to ask
What does it feel like when you squeeze the water out of the paper? What does it sound like when you stir the mixture? What do you think will happen when we put these heavy books on the top of this pile? How much water will we need to cover the newspaper in the bucket? What do you think the seeds will look like when we've pressed them?
Follow-up activities
* Make a collection of different types of paper and compare their size, thickness, colour and use.
* Make dough shapes and press seeds and grasses into the dough to make a design.
* Press autumn leaves using a flower or book press.
* Thicken paint with fine sawdust, tip on to plastic sheeting and use fingers to make bark patterns.
* Make autumn shakers by putting different objects such as acorns, conkers and sycamore seeds in separate lidded yoghurt pots. Ask the children to listen to the differences in the shaker noise.
* Fill a shallow tray with dry leaves for the children to scrunch with their hands or put the leaves on a table for them to roll with paint or pastry rollers.
* Sing 'Autumn leaves are falling down, falling down, falling down' to the tune of 'London Bridge is falling down'. Change the last line of the verse to 'Here's a conker' and encourage the children to suggest other endings.
Child-initiated learning
Encourage the children to develop their own ideas and interests across the curriculum by adding topic resources to your basic provision.
Outdoors
Additional resources
* A large heap of leaves for children to run through and throw in the air * wheelbarrows, rakes, twig brooms and large piece of cardboard for scooping up leaves * wind chimes and spirals * boxes, blankets and tent materials for making 'homes' for hibernating animals (make sure there is enough material for the children to make homes of various sizes, for soft toys such as mice or imaginary creatures) * replace sand in the sand tray with chipped bark (available from garden centres) and bury conkers and acorns in it
Possible learning experiences
* Moving freely with pleasure and confidence in the leaves, and experimenting with different ways of moving, such as jumping and kicking and using arms.
* Using rakes, wheelbarrows and other tools to find ways of moving and collecting leaves. Manipulating the tools safely and effectively. Exploring how quantities of leaves behave when you try to collect them together, and put them into containers.
* Using a range of small and large equipment to make a role play area for hibernating animals. Learning to construct with the equipment safely.
* Examining objects and living things to find out more about them.
The practitioner role
* Teach and encourage children to use the vocabulary of movement such as 'leap', 'whirl', 'toss'.
* Provide equipment that offers a range of challenges, such as cardboard scoops, dustpan and brush, brooms, large boxes, large truck with scoop.
Encourage children to work in a way that is comfortable, effective and safe.
* Encourage children to take turns, and help children to resolve any conflict in sharing equipment and working together. Encourage children to think about others' viewpoints.
* Encourage children to talk about their findings and to ask questions.
Science area
Additional resources
* Collections of leaves, seeds, pine cones, nuts, conkers, sycamore seeds, twigs * autumn fruits, such as pumpkins, marrows and apples * microscope and magnifying glasses * specimen viewers *reference pictures and books of leaves and seeds * photographs of autumn walk mounted in a poster or in a book *paper, pencils, pens
Possible learning experiences
* Beginning to describe the texture of things, such as leaves, conkers, seeds and nuts.
* Asking simple questions, such as: 'What is this?' and 'Why is this prickly?'
* Showing curiosity in the collection, observing items closely, and handling and feeling objects.
* Sorting a collection of autumn objects, and talking about how to sort them.
The practitioner role
* Introduce vocabulary, such as smooth, shiny, rough, prickly, jagged, veined. Extend the children's scientific language and model the correct use of words.
* Encourage conversation about the autumn collection, and help children to respond to other children's contributions. Ask 'What can you see?', 'Are there any other leaves like this one?', 'Can you sort the seeds?'
* Help children identify 'signs of autumn' in books, pictures and photographs.
* Encourage close observation, leading to describing objects, or making detailed drawings of them.
* Encourage children to sort objects in different ways, and to say what they know about how and where they grow.
Sheila Ebbutt and Carole Skinner are co-ordinators of the Early Childhood Mathematics Group
Books
* Out and About by Shirley Hughes (Walker Books, 6.99)
* The Wind Blew by Pat Hutchins (Red Fox, 4.99)
* Mrs Mopple's Washing Line by Anita Hewett (Red Fox, Mini Treasures, Pounds 1.25)
* The Seasons by Debbie MacKinnon (Frances Lincoln, 4.99).