Oh, Fall! Fall is here. I can tell by the brisk air. The smell of pumpkin and earth. The sound of leaves crunching while little feet walk. This sound is so characteristic of Autumn. I wanted to incorporate it in our sensory time – without using real leaves which would rot and decay while shelved for a few weeks.
I used brown paper bags and cut them into the shapes of 6 different types of leaves (later to be identified and matched to different tree types). I crumpled up the paper – as Buga plays they get more worn looking. The totally make that “crunch crunch” sound typical of the season. The object is to go on a hunt through the leaves to find colored acorns. There are three of each color. She picks them up with tongs (to help strengthen muscles) and puts them into a matching color bowl. We can count them, color them, or make patterns with them. I hadn’t thought of it before, but it would be a great accompaniment to “Nuts to You!” By Lois Ehlert.
