By Lauren Cole on Wednesday, 01 October 2014
Category: Past Activities

Fall Leaf Sorting

What you'll need:

Sectioned Dish (such as a dip platter) or bowls
Leaves (gathered from outdoors or artificial)

Getting Started:

Today's activity puts a fall twist on sorting by using autumn leaves. You can use artificial leaves purchased at a craft store, but we encourage you to bring nature to your child's learning by first going on a leaf walk. This provides a wonderful opportunity to talk about the changing seasons, different types of trees, how and why leaves change color, and collect leaves (or fallen seeds and nuts) to sort in this activity. 

It was Maria Montessori's belief that exercises such as these, in nature, cement learning with young children by allowing them to draw connection to the world around them. 

Once you have your leaves, place them all in a container to be sorted. As you sort, talk about the color and shape of each leaf and what kind of tree it came from. 

For a fun craft twist... once you have finished your sorting exercise you can:

Why It's Important:

Sorting feeds into a child's natural desire to make sense of their world, and builds fundamental math skills through comparing and contrasting objects. The act of sorting helps children understand grouping, and that things can be similar or dissimilar.

What it teaches:

Early Math Concepts
Climate and Seasons
Science Concepts
Fine Motor Skills
Learning in Nature

 












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