Sorting Helps Science and Math Skills

Walks With Young Children Are FUN!!

Walks with young children are especially fun in fall when the leaves turn brilliant colors and many flowers have interesting seed heads. They can observe birds flying south in giant V’s and other animals frantically burying food for the winter. It’s a great time for children to collect objects, too.

 You can prepare by gathering some small bags, paper plates, glue, newspaper, a marker, and magnifying glass.

Collecting Fun 
   Learning goes better on a full stomach. Right?  You can pack a picnic snack and explain you are taking a walk to look for signs of fall and collect colorful leaves, seeds, and pebbles which stay the same in any season but are fun to collect. Take along an extra bag for paper garbage to clean up the area, too.

  Fields, bike paths, shorelines, cemeteries, and college campuses have a variety of trees and beautiful surroundings. Encourage children to collect and count many different types, sizes, colors, shapes, and textures. You can include a library book of tree identification to help answer questions about why leaves change colors and fall.

Collect and Count

Sorting Skill

  After collecting and snacking return home to sort out materials on newspapers based on characteristics. Print a title on each paper plate like leaves, seeds, or pebbles.

   Next label more plates with characteristics (attributes). For leaves, you may use five plates labeled red, orange, green, brown, and mixed colors.  Plates for seeds may be acorn, maple, and flower and weed seeds, large, and small. Pebble labels may be large, small, shiny, dull, smooth, rough, sharp, soft (sandstone) hard black, brown, white, speckled.

   Casually help your children decide where the objects belong. Before you take a break, spread leaves in paper toweling and insert them in a large book. (Back to back cookie sheets will also work.) Then place some heavy weights on top to flatten the leaves as they dry.

 When you’re ready for another 

Discuss What You Collect - Similar & Different??

project, take out paper plates, marker, and glue. Children can glue the sorted objects to make designs, a number, category, or their name. Children like to glue leaves, seeds and rocks on plates as a collage, take a photo, and send it to extended family or show during the next FaceTime.

 Discuss different attributes of objects as children glue them on the plates. Young children will develop small hand muscles and learn to use small dabs of glue.  It is very tempting to take a glue bottle and squeeze it neatly for children or place an object just so.  Instead give tips on how to hold the bottle and leave the rock where it is. The end product is not really important. It’s the process. For more family fun see grandparentsteachtoo.blogspot.com and wnmufm.org/Learning Through the Seasons podcasts and live.
Photos: Fran Darling, fdarling fotos