Sorting activities are a great way to help a young child grow and develop cognitively. This fall, try a seasonal leaf sorting family activity with a special child. This kid’s activity will get the entire family outdoors during the vibrant fall season, and help to teach about the environment, shapes, and colors. As an added bonus families can save money on pricey season themed games by trying this absolutely free activity.
Children’s Age for the Fall Leaf Sorting Activity
This activity can be used with children of all ages, but older children will easily loose interest. Try the fall leaf sorting activity with older toddlers and preschool aged children. Children of school age need not be excluded from this fun family game. Instead, enlist them as helpers or change the activity to make it more challenging.
One way to adjust this family activity for an older child is to add in a math lesson. For example, before the activity begins write numbers and math symbols on the leaves. Have an older child sort by number or create mathematic equations with the leaves.
View Fall Foliage
The first step to this activity is to view the colorful fall foliage. Ask the child to name the colors that he or she sees. Pick up a few different leaves and discuss what is seen in terms of color, shape, line, or pattern. If the child does not yet have the vocabulary words to name what he or she sees speak the new words as the discussion moves along.
Certain geographic areas have different peak fall foliage viewing times. For an up to date map of U.S. foliage viewing times try the Weather Channel website.
Collect Autumn Leaves
In the next step all of the family members can help to collect fallen leaves. Try to find a variety of colors, shapes, and sizes. If the nearby area or yard does not present many options, take this step to a local park. Bring a shopping bag and fill it with fallen leaves.
This activity works best when there is a large amount of leaves to choose from. If possible, try this activity after raking leaves into piles.
Sorting Fall Leaves with Young Children
After the leaves have been viewed and gathered it is time to sort them. Make this fun! Encourage the child to choose his or her own leaves and begin piles. Make sure that the piles are formed based on a similar trait. Examples include:
- Size
- Color
- Shape
- Pattern
After the sorting has been completed, place the leaves back into one pile. Repeat this activity as many times as the child wants.
Other Ideas for a Fall Leaf Sorting Kids Activity
As previously noted, this activity can be easily adapted for an older child by adding in a more academic lesson such as math. Other examples of activity adaptations include:
- Science: Learn about the different types of trees in the area. Sort and group the leaves according to tree type.
- Literacy: Write a letter on each leaf. Ask the child to group the same letters. For more of a challenge, make piles according to words. For example, try fall themed words such as pumpkin, apple, or autumn. Have the child place leaves into piles that correspond with the word letters.
- Texture: Try this activity without the sense of sight. Ask the child to close his or her eyes and sort by texture alone.
The leaf sorting activity is a fun family game that is perfect for the autumn season. View the colorful fall foliage, and then sort the fallen leaves by one of many attributes. Play again and again, or adapt the game for a new and more interesting challenge.
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