It’s Fall, Y’all!

Yes it is.  And I hope you are enjoying the cooler temperatures and lovely leaves as much as I.  Thoughts of hayrides, bon fires, the smell of leaf smoke, and the sounds of children laughing come to mind.

I trust you are taking advantage of the joys of the season with your youngsters.  It is a great time to take a walk with toddlers and preschoolers.  They will enjoy just being outside. They will get the benefits of fresh air and sunshine.  You won’t have to be concerned with the dangers of their becoming too warm, dehydrated, or getting sunburned.

It is the perfect setting in which to increase vocabulary.  Words like leaves, fall, crunch, rake, squirrels, acorns, nuts, fire, smoke, jump, and many others are easy and fun to work into the conversation.  Talk about how cool it is, encourage your little guy to run, hop, skip, and jump through the leaves as he plays.

Provide a small paper bag for your child to use in collecting nature items.  I say small as it may discourage him from trying to bring home a large rock!  Name each item as it goes into the bag:  You found a red leaf.  That is a little/small yellow flower.  Look at your tiny rock/pebble.  You found the cap from an acorn.  That is a pine cone.  My eyes see lots of pine needles.  Thank you, God, for my eyes.

You may later use the items your wee one found to do an activity.  Provide a sturdy piece of paper like card stock or thin cardboard, school glue, and a cotton swab for applying the glue.  Allow him to apply glue to the paper and place the items on as he chooses.  When you change his art, it’s no longer his, its then yours.

If you are a little braver, you may provide thick paper, tempera paint in a shallow pan (aluminum pie pan works great), and his nature objects.  Show him how to dip the leaf into the paint then use it to make impressions on the paper.  Talk about how different items make different shapes.  Thank God for his little hands so he can paint.

Sing songs about fall.  Read books about the season.  Prepare a snack together and eat it outside while talking about the changes he can see around the area.  Now is the perfect time to obtain a pumpkin and allow your child to glue on facial features you make ahead of time.  Again, praise his efforts and refrain from changing his creation.  As it gets closer to Halloween, you may want to allow him to help you clean out the pumpkin and carve it.

These suggestions are by no means all that you may find to do during this last season before the really cold weather hits.  Take advantage of it and don’t forget to continue your gentle parenting efforts.  Slow down your routine and really listen to what he is saying.  God bless your parenting efforts.  Jesus is our role model.  If you aren’t sure how to handle a situation, ask yourself WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?). Happy Gentle Parenting.

©2014 Brenda Holland-Robinson