Fall is time of change; the days are getting cooler. Jackets come out of the closet and
summer clothes are put away for the year. Take your child out for an afternoon walk,
talk about the colors of the leaves and how they making crunching sounds when
you walk through them. Point out that some still stay green. Pile up leaves in
your yard and let your toddler jump in them and run through them. Let them help
rake them up with a little toy rake for more fun.
Halloween safety tips.
Take a flash light; only go to familiar neighbor hoods; leave earlier in the day, do not allow your child to eat any candy until you have checked it. Remove any ball shaped or very chewy candies that may cause choking. A child can choke on anything larger than a quarter (older children & adults a 50 cent piece).
If purchasing a costume try to avoid masks they can impede your child’s vision. Consider purchasing a larger size that can be worn over a coat if the weather is cold. Don’t forget one for yourself, your children love to see you dress up too!
When carving pumpkins let you little ones help scoop out the insides. This gives them the chance to help while exploring new textures. Talk about how cold it feels and how it is sticky and slimy and how the seeds are hard. Click more below for fun fall activities and recipes.
Foot Print Ghosts: Paint the bottom of your child’s bare foot with finger paint. Have them place their foot on a piece of paper. After the paint dries, turn the picture with the heel side up for the head. Make a face, to represent a ghost. You can also do this with a t-shirt or sweatshirt for fun fall wear. For a fun game cut out the ghost and glue it to a Popsicle or craft stick to make a puppet. Let your child help using a glue stick for less mess. After the glue has dried use the ghost as a puppet while singing/chanting the following rhyme to your child.
Baby Ghost: Baby Ghost, baby ghost flying through the air (Move back & forth in front of your child.)Baby ghost, baby ghost touching your hair (Touch your child’s hair with the ghost.) Baby ghost, baby ghost flying down low (Bring the ghost down low.) Baby ghost, baby ghost touches your toe. (Touch child’s toe with the ghost.) Baby ghost, baby ghost flying up high. (Raise puppet up high.) Baby ghost, baby ghost touches your eye. (Have child close their eye then touch their eyelid softly with the ghost puppet.) If your child is older make two puppets and have them do it with you.
Hand print Turkeys: Have your child place their hand on a piece of paper with their finger’s spread out. Trace around it with a pencil. Draw a face on the head (thumb) and legs from the palm at the bottom. Have your child color the turkey. Cut it out and hang it up for a Thanksgiving Day decoration. They can also be cut out and used as place cards for dinner, or left as a full sheet and used as place card/mats. You can also make a fun t-shirt or sweatshirt by painting your child’s hand with finger paint and have them put their hand on the shirt with their fingers spread out. Use fabric paint to draw the face and legs.
Roasted Pumpkin Seeds (a great homemade snack)
4 1/2 Cups Pumpkin seeds
6 teaspoons melted butter (olive oil or vegetable oil work well) 3 tsp to taste salt
3 tsp to taste garlic powder (optional)
3 tsp to taste cayenne pepper (optional)
3 tsp to taste seasoning salt (optional)
3 tsp to taste cajun seasoning (optional)
Directions: Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. While it's OK to leave some strings and pulp on your seeds (it adds flavor) clean off any major chunks. Toss pumpkin seeds in a bowl with the melted butter or oil and seasonings of your choice. Spread pumpkin seeds in a single layer on baking sheet. Bake for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden brown. Shell and cut in half for toddler. Make sure they chew it thoroughly.