Autumn is a special time for children. The changing of the season is a beautiful one and dramatic enough to make them sit up and notice. It evokes their natural curiosity about life, about nature, about the world. Why are the leaves on the ground? Why are the red and yellow? What happened to the green ones? And it’s not just the trees and leaves that are noticeable. Pine cones start appearing on the ground. Conkers and acorns. What are all these mini treasures and where did they come from! More interestingly, what can I do with them! They’re like nature’s toys. Something children can find, pick up and take ownership of. Nature has already discarded them so it’s not stealing. It’s creating and fuelling a zest for life and nature that will see children grow to be confident and happy beings.
Collecting pine cones in different sizes can introduce young children to 3D shapes, different textures and colours. They can also be an introduction into seeing nature working at it’s best. Place a dry pine cone into a small pot of water, not completely submerged, and within days it will have grown its own leaves. Your own little indoor forest. If you have a budding artist, let them get creative with the paints to make a pine cone forest in all colours. Rainbow, glitter, or just their favourite colour. Assemble them once they’re dry in a large glass jar so they have a reminder of how wonderful nature is.
Collecting leaves of all different shapes, sizes and colours can ignite young, and old, imaginations. Leave them to dry for a few hours, then place them on a large piece of coloured card or paper. You could create trees, or use them to add detail to a sunset, perhaps they could be tumbling down the side of a mountain… Watch their imaginations grow and develop as they decide where to put the leaves, which colours to use, which shapes they favour. Once they have finished, you could paint over the leaves with PVA glue to create a glossy finish.
Acorns are quite fun to collect just because how they are. Small, smooth, shiny, some with hats, some without. These could be painted an array of different colours to create a set of marbles. They could be drilled, by an adult of course, to string together into a necklace. Or they could just be grouped together in a nice bowl to decorate a table, painted or left natural. Perhaps you could help to draw little faces on them to create an acorn family. They could live in their own flower pot. An autumnal take on the fairy garden.
Whatever you decide to do during these autumn months, taking some time to build collections of all the natural wonders the season gives us could be a most lovely way of learning about nature as well as keeping those artistic fires burning.
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