Are you looking for some ideas to help your planning for Autumn? There are lots of different things you can explore with your early years children at this time of the year that will help your them investigate new ideas and concepts. Here are some ideas:
Well-loved themes:
- Autumn.
- Harvest. Harvest festivals tend to be held at the end of Summer/beginning of Autumn and make a fabulous topic to explore with children.
- Hedgehogs. These spikey little animals are fun to learn about in the autumn when they are getting ready to hibernate for the winter.
- Squirrels – download my free squirrel mini-pack here for lots of ideas.
- Nocturnal Animals. As the days start to get shorter in Autumn it is a good time to explore this topic.
Some slightly different ideas:
6. All About Me. Lots of children start in new settings in the Autumn so an ‘All About Me’ topic is a good way of helping get to know each other. Use this free downloadable ‘All About Me and You’ playdough activity to get you started.
7. Fungi. Although you can find lots of different fungi most of the year Autumn is when they really come into their own. Why not take your children on a fungi hunt?
8. Owls – why not head over to the World Owl Trust (my old workplace!) website for more information about owls.
9. How about some nursery rhymes or Traditional Tales that tie into an Autumn themed topic such as ‘Incy Wincy Spider’ or ‘The Little Red Hen’?
10. Hedgerows. Hedgerows can be a fantastic source of biodiversity and can provide plenty of different things to explore – like blackberries and other hedgerow fruits!
11. Leaves. These are such a fabulous (and free!) resource so make a great theme to explore in Autumn.
12. Road Safety. This is an important thing to teach children at any time of year but as the nights start to get darker, making it harder to see, it is useful time to reinforce road safety with your children. You can find lots of road safety ideas and resources in the Health and Safety section of the website here.
13. Apples. Apples are everywhere in the autumn and make a great base to explore lots of different things such as plants and life cycles, baking, painting with apples, trying different types of apples and so on.
14. Sticks! Another good autumn resource. Explore what you can do with sticks: build a house, draw a picture, play at sword fighting! This topic goes well with Julia Donaldson’s popular story ‘Stickman,’ but there are also other stick themed books that you can explore such as ‘Stick!’ by Irene Dickson, published by the National Trust, which is ideal for younger children.
15. Weather. This topic can be explored all year round. Autumn weather can be quite changeable, from golden autumn days to wet and windy weather! Explore these changes with your children and talk about what sorts of clothes they need.
Diversity themes and celebrations to explore in Autumn.
16. 1st October – World Vegetarian Day. A good time to explore some new recipes with your children and talk about how different people eat different things.
17. Bonfire Night on the 5th of November each year.
17. Halloween on the 31st of October each year.
18. Remembrance Day on the 11th of November each year.
19. Diwali. The date for this festival moves depending on which year it is but usually falls in either October or November. Find out about this Hindu festival and download a free Diya template here.
20. St Andrew’s Day. This falls on the 30th of November each year and celebrates the Patron Saint of Scotland.
Some more unusual (but fun) topics to explore in Autumn:
21. Pirates. Talk Like a Pirate Day is held on the 19th of September each year so why not join in with a pirate theme!
22. Space. Space Week is held at the beginning of October each year so why not make it event in your own setting.
23. Africa. Where do swallows go when they leave at the end of Summer? Investigating this idea with children can lead you into a topic about migration and the continent of Africa where swallows go when it is gets colder here.
24. Germs and keeping clean! Coughs, colds and other nasties have a habit of spreading more rapidly in the Autumn and Winter months so why not do a germs and keeping clean topic and try and keep them at bay. You can find a handy (pardon the pun!) handwashing song and downloadable poster here.
25. The International Day of Democracy is held on the 15th of September each year. This is a great time to explore this concept with your children. Find out more about British Values here.
You may also like:
Continuous provision is all the resources and activities that you continue to provide on a daily basis. In a small early years setting such as a childminders this may look slightly different depending on your children and the sorts of needs they have, but in general your continuous provision should cover opportunities for the children to work on skills and learning across all the areas of . . . click the link below to read more.
In order to offer your children the best learning opportunities it is important to provide opportunities over and above what you provide as part of your continuous curriculum. This is especially important for children from deprived backgrounds who may not have access to these sorts of opportunities outside your setting. . . . click the link below to read more.
Products that can help you use themes:
The Childminding Best Practice Club
As a member of the Childminding Best Practice Club you will receive a monthly toolkit containing a wealth of resources designed to make your life easier. Each toolkit has two main sections; a ‘My Learning section with training and CPD and a, ‘My Curriculum section’ with planning, activities, tools, and resources based around a theme. The themes covered in your monthly toolkits have been specially chosen to provide you with a careful balance of themes and will help your children acquire skills and knowledge across a range of subjects and learning areas.
