Sep 07 2008
Fall is Here-5 Senses
Fall is just around the corner. We can see it in the leaves, feel it in the wind, hear it in the trees, smell it in the air, and taste it in the food that’s in season. How can we start to incorporate how our senses can tell the changing of the season into our Daycare Program? Start by going for a nature walk.
Sight:
Have the children look at the trees blowing in the wind, and explain how the wind comes in the fall to help the trees shed their leaves. Talk about how the trees and leaves blow in the wind. Are they moving fast or slow?
Touch:
Have children pick up a leaf that has fallen from a tree. Explain how the trees are starting to “go to sleep” for the winter. Ask them to explain how the wind feels on their faces. Is it hot? Is it Cold? Is it warm? Is it blowing hard or soft? Is the leaf they picked up dry or soft? How long do they think it’s been on the ground?
Sound:
Ask if they can hear it wind in the leaves. Have them close their eyes and listen. See if they can make the sound of the wind.
Smell:
Ask the children to smell the leaves and explain what kind of smell it is. Does it smell like dirt? Does it have a smell? Does the air smell different than normal? When you get back from your walk, serve a fresh apple and explain that apples are picked in the fall. Have them smell it, and explain that apples are a fall smell.
Taste: Talk about the flavors of fall foods. Ask them to explain how the apple tastes. Different kinds of apples can be served as well, so you can have the sweet taste of a Red Delicious and the sour taste of a Granny Smith. Cut an apple in half and show them the seeds, and explain how the apples fall to the ground in the fall, then they are carried by animals, and dropped in the soil to grow new trees.
PROJECT: 
Cut an apple in half. Have the children dip one half in tempera paint and stamp it on a piece of paper. For more advanced little ones, they can turn their stamp into a drawing after the paint is dry, or use their fingertips to stamp fingerprint arms, legs, and heads on their apple stamp, using it as a body.
