Forest In the Fall Preschool Unit
I love being in the forest in the fall. The crunchy leaves, the crisp air, the bright clear skies- fall is easily one of my favorite times to go camping and hiking. To bring some of that magic into our preschool lessons at home, I created a forest in the fall preschool unit for my daughter. This unit is full of easy, low-prep activities that are both Montessori and Waldorf inspired. Read on for ideas on how to easily create your own Forest in the Fall preschool unit. (And at the end, there’s a free, downloadable choice board!)
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Must Have Books
Little Acorn
I absolutely LOVE this series by Autumn Publishing. The illustrations are absolutely adorable, the rhyming is preschooler-friendly, but the information it delivers is SO informative. These books are the perfect blend of highly engaging and highly informative.
With this book your preschooler will learn about the life cycle of oak trees, all presented from the perspective of a little acorn.
It’s available on Amazon here.
A Very Big Fall by Emmy Kastner
THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE BOOKS EVER. Seriously. If I had to be on a deserted island with my children and could only pack a handful of books- this one is going in the bag. No question about it.
Three different leaves are learning about the fall from squirrels and are anxious about how this is all going to go for them. One at a time, they turn colors and fall, and each has a different personality that really shines through. They’re collected by a little girl, and honestly, I just can’t even describe how precious and funny this book is. It’s a MUST.
It’s available on Amazon here.
Language Activity
Leaf Letters
This is a fun way to get your kiddo active while working on phonics. Grab some poster board, some brown paper, some leaf cutouts, and some Velcro dots. (I got my leaf cutouts here.)
Trace out a tree on your poster board and either cover it with brown paper or have your preschooler fill it in with brown crayon. Then write letters on the leaf cutouts and attach them to the tree branches with Velcro dots.
We did a couple of different activities with this tree:
- Have your kiddo find specific letters. I would call out letter sounds and she would have to hunt on the tree for them. To make it extra challenging, add a timer and have them look for all of the letters in their name!
- Have them pair up uppercase and lowercase letters. If your preschooler is learning their upper an lowercase letters, have them find the matching pairs on the tree and pick them off.
What I love with this activity is that you can really scale it and adapt it to whatever phonics skill your kid is currently working on. If they’re on the younger side, just put a few letters up. If they’re getting close to being able to read- put up as many letters as you can fit on your tree!
Family Activities
Leaf Hunt/Nature Walk
I automatically have “Going on a Leaf Hunt” in my head just typing this. We love doing leaf hunts at different parks to see how many different leaves we can collect. When we get home we try to identify all of the leaves (and we save them for other activities in this preschool unit!
Hike in the Forest
There’s hardly anything better than a fall hike in the forest. In addition to looking for changing leaves, look for animal behavior that signifies fall is here.
And if you’re just getting into hiking as a family, be sure to check out my post here for tips on how to have fun while hiking with littles. (And fall is ABSOLUTELY the best time to start to really get them hooked on hiking.)
Fall Camping Trip
If there is anything better than a fall hike- it’s a camping trip in the fall. This is absolutely my most favorite time of year to get the kids out in the woods and camp. We started camping in the fall when our oldest daughter was still a baby, and we’ve kept it up ever since. She now sees the fall as the kick off to camping season.
No sweltering and fewer bugs- fall camping is just full of crisp days, cozy mornings in the campsite, refreshing hiking, and clear nights.
Science Activities
Sorting/Matching Leaf Type
After your nature walk, gather up different kinds of leaves and have your preschooler identify their type.
And if you couldn’t find a wide variety, I made an easy matching printable that is available here.
Looking At How Animals Prep for Fall
Learn about how animals prep for all. Who gathers up stashes of food for winter? What animals prepare for hibernation? Who prepares warm homes or grows a thicker coat of fur? Do any animals change their appearance to camouflage better? Who migrates?
If you would like an easy matching worksheet about different ways that animals prepare for winter for your preschooler, you can check out the one I created here.
If you would like to focus more on just hibernation, I also created a sorting exercise that you can find here.
And if you’re looking for something more in-depth, let your preschooler pick their favorite forest animal, take a trip to the library, and explore how that animal gets ready for winter.
Another great online resource can be found from the National Parks Service here.
Practical Life Activity
Raking Leaves
A big part of Montessori is focusing on practical life skills, and this one also happens to be a simple way to spend family time together. Let your preschooler rake the leaves with you. To make it even easier for them, you can purchase a child sized rake on Amazon here.
Art Activities
Create Leaf Art
One of the most fun crafts we’ve ever done at home was creating a fall landscape by using paint and aluminum foil. We balled up the aluminum foil, dipped into fall-colored paints, and used the foil as a tool to apply the paint to the paper.
The method was so much fun and it ended up creating a really cool texture for the fall leaves.
Press Leaves in Contact Paper
A low key activity to do after you’ve gathered leaves during a nature walk- preserve them in contact paper.
To dry them first, place the leaves between sheets of tissue paper and place inside a heavy book. After a week or so, they should be ready to be pressed in between two sheets of contact paper.
(This can also serve as a suncatcher that your child can then hang up in their window.)
Leaf Etching
This is great way to get your preschooler to slow down and notice the intricacies of leaves. While on your nature walk, gather up a few different kinds of leaves. Place thin paper overtop and then have your child etch the leaves using a crayon.
It’s simple, mess free, and a beautiful way to bring a bit of fall back into your home.
I’ve also recently noticed many parks in our area putting out leaf etching rubber plates. If you have a park like this in your area, this is a great addition to a leaf hunt.
Sensory/Fine Motor Activity
Pouring and Scooping with Leaf Manipulatives
This is an activity I started with my daughter when she was a toddler, but she still absolutely loves it a couple of years later. I found some acrylic leaf vase fillers from Hobby Lobby and she LOVES to pour and scoop with them. I’m not sure if it’s the sound they make, the way the acrylic feels, or the cozy fall colors, but these are some of her favorite items to still do sensory bins with.
Math Activity
Counting with Leaf Manipulatives and Sandpaper Numbers
Once your preschooler has poured and scooped the leaf manipulatives to their heart’s content, sneak in a little math activity there. Grab some sandpaper numbers (or make your own using glitter glue) and have your child place the correct number of leaf manipulatives onto each sandpaper number.
For older preschoolers, this is also an easy way to start to give your preschooler some very basic adding and subtracting practice.
Additional Books
Autumn Leaves Fall
This is a great one for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers alike. It’s a BEAUTIFUL board book with simple, rhyming words about the falling leaves. Each page the leaves gradually turn from green to yellow to brown until they ultimately fall. Rich with autumn hues and adorable forest animals playing in the leaves, it is one that is so enjoyable to read again and again.
Additionally, it’s easy to memorize. This is one of the first books that my three year old “read” aloud to her baby sister. Even though she can’t actually read, she had it all memorized and she was able to recognize some letters.
This is one of four books in this Little Nature Explorers series that helps toddlers explore the changing seasons and it’s one that we love to read every year. It’s available here.
Forest Friends Sleep
Another in the Little Nature Explorers series, this is a great supplement to your activity on how animals prepare for winter in the fall. It also rhymes and is great phonics practice for preschoolers. It’s available on Amazon here.
Autumn in the Forest
Another great series, these books have sturdy pop up features that make them durable for year after year. (And can even hold up to eager little toddler hands!) It also focuses on how forest animals get ready for the fall. Both my toddler and my preschooler absolutely love this one. It’s available here.
Closing thoughts
I hope this Fall in the Forest Preschool Unit Study brings you and your preschooler a lot of joy and opportunities to explore the magic of fall together! And if you’re looking for more fall-themed preschool units, be sure to check out my Pumpkin Discovery Box for preschoolers here:
Lastly, if you would like to download the choice board I created for this unit, that is available here:
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