MamaToyz shows you how to richly involve Autumn for sensory development

 

Autumn; the season after summer and before winter. Some absolutely love it and some see it as the end of their favourite time. One thing that Autumn offers us is a sense of change but also the opportunity to give our little ones something new to explore without really having to go anywhere to do it. We spend our time designing products to support the development of your child and Autumn is here to give something extra too! Here are our ideas for using Autumn to richly inform your child’s sensory development over the coming months:

Sight: Organising by colour

Exploring the changes for the season can be a magical time for your child. All the leaves change colour and fall to the ground, plants close to protect themselves from the temperature and skies are often enchantingly extravagant. These are all things that your little one can see and discover the true intricacies of the natural world. A great activity to involve this is collecting leaves to be organised by their change in colour, shape or size. 

Touch: Collecting textures

Whilst out, collecting textures also makes a great activity. Having them seek different natural elements that have dramatically different textures for a variety of survival reasons. These can then be brought home to be made into different art forms. A specific favourite is to use them for printing or chalking over to reveal their two-dimensional imprint. 

Smell: Orange, spice and all things nice 

There’s nothing more fun than cooking and we can never help ourselves but change what we’re cooking as the seasons’ change. Choosing citrus scents in combination with spices always makes us feel the warmth of Autumn, and of course not forgetting the pumpkins too!

Our most helpful tool is the Kule Learning Tower allowing us to have our children safely at the surfaces with us to explore new scents and tastes!

Taste: Seasonal Foods

We know that sometimes investigating new tastes isn’t the favourite thing for children to do. Therefore Autumn provides us the best time to make it fun and get them trying new things. Talking about sustainability and explaining how fruits and vegetables are more available at different times of the year is part of a valuable education for a healthy future and planet. The bonus of this is it might be just what you need to be able to cook your favourite dish for the whole family (remember the one you loved before you had children?)

Sound: Rusting leaves, shaking acorns and good old conkers

The change in sound is both the dryness and dampness that Autumn has. An activity that can go on for the whole season if you wish is listening for different animals, leaves rustling and muddy footprints but it’s also another opportunity for collection games. Seeing what they can create with what they’ve collected from rain tubes that mimic Autumn showers to just a good old game of conkers (with fingers out the way!) making their own Autumnal sounds with what they’ve sourced!

Autumn is a truly wonderful time of year and we hope these ideas give you some new activities to enjoy with your little ones!