Walking by the Way

Fall Fun Days

Regular school takes a back seat this week to make room for fall fun!   

I stole our first few fall fun ideas from Nature Detectives.  

Make Like a Squirrel & Gather Nuts 

We found an oak tree and the boys grabbed up dozens of acorns.  I told them to hide them like squirrels do.  We then went on a walk through the park.  Once we were far away from the hiding place, I asked the boys if they could find the acorns.  They did!  

Leaf Crowns

While on our stroll through the wooded park, the boys collected leaves.  I made bands for each of them out of white poster board before we left home, and I took my stapler on our journey.  As they found leaves they loved, I stapled them to their bands.  By the time we returned home, each boy had a nice crown of leaves.   

Fall Funny Faces
I found this idea last year.  We had so much fun that we decided it should be a repeat.  I guess it’s a tradition in the making!

We took a bag with us to the park and we collected all sorts of fall nature:  berries, pine needles, pine cones, leaves, bark, stones, nuts, etc.  When we returned home, we drew some circles with chalk on the sidewalk and made our faces. 

Salt Dough Leaf Prints
This idea came from That Artist Woman; please visit her blog for complete instructions.  We made the dough & prints on one day.  We painted, washed, and sealed them the next.    

A few tips from me to you for this project- don’t buy cheapy cheap thin leaves like I did (.30 a bunch at Family Dollar); they don’t work super well.  I painted some of the outlines of the leaves for Elijah so he wouldn’t be so frustrated (because they were so hard to see).   Don’t use matte finish Modge Podge.   Don’t be afraid to let your preschooler do the brown wash or the Modge Podge part; they can’t mess up! 

Simon helped me mix up the salt dough. 

kneading and rolling

making the prints

painting with fall colors and a brown wash

Simon painted his ALL orange.  Once we got the brown wash on it, it looked fine (the veins popped out).    I hope to add some magnets to the backs and let them don the front of the fridge.  

Pumpkin Sugar Cookies
It’s not really fall unless the oven is baking a treat, is it?  

We made the dough on one day.  We made the frosting, baked them, and decorated them the next day.  

Spider Web Art

Another fun one!   This is great for fine motor skill practice as well as getting to experiment with a different medium-  chalk pastels.  The glue on Elijah’s globbed together in the middle, so we decided to add a spider.  Also, if you decide to make this, please keep in mind that it is a two day project. 

Instructions are found here.

Watercolor Crayon Resist Leaf

I saw this idea over at Art Projects For Kids, so we decided to try it out today. 

First Elijah traced a leaf pattern.  Then he outlined it in red crayon.  I gave him some textured cardboard from my scrapbooking stash and put it under the leaf.  He chose a yellow crayon and rubbed it over the leaf. 

He added veins and chose warm watercolors to paint the inside of the leaf.

We let the painting dry and then he chose a cool color- purple to paint the background.  I wasn’t sure about purple, but it was his painting…not mine. 

The finished product.  Purple was a lovely choice! 

Funny Fall Faces

Take your nature walk and collect a shoebox full of stuff (nuts, berries, leaves, grass, seeds, etc.).  Get some sidewalk chalk and draw a circle.  Decorate your funny face! 

This was an easy way to make a good memory and enjoy the great outdoors at the same time. Here are our faces.