Traditionally the harvest time of year, there’s a feast of rich nature-inspired activities. As you know, at The Play Lab we believe in incorporating nature into our activities whenever possible. That’s why it’s time for our annual HARVEST FESTIVAL
CELEBRATE THE JOY OF AUTUMN WITH US AT THE PLAY LAB’S HARVEST FESTIVAL!
Bring your little ones, ages 2 - 7, for a fun-filled event packed with creative activities, seasonal crafts, and plenty of festive cheer. Our HARVEST FALL FESTIVAL is designed to engage children in Montessori-based hands-on experiences that celebrate the beauty and bounty of the season.
The fall is a special time of year. The seasons are changing and there’s so many opportunities to share special moments with your little ones. These times of transformation can extend beyond the changing leaves, to your loved ones childhood development as they grow faster than those leaves are falling, and even to ourselves.
Creating intentional Moments of Joy with your loved ones
As we transition from summer to fall, the abundance of the longer days and sunny skies starts shifting into the colder months of winter. For some of us, this can lead to an urge to speed up, do more, work more, or even “be more.” This can take us away from being here now in the present moment.
Creating special moments of play with our little ones can help us too! These pockets of play create moments of intention. We can take the opportunity to remind ourselves to slow down, breathe, and find our way back to the present moment and ourselves. It might be knee-deep in leaves, or with hands covered in pumpkin guts, but either way the connection with our loved ones are priceless.
These 5 activities are full of rich Montessori-sensory activities
They can last an afternoon or just 15 minutes. They’re designed to stimulate your child’s sensory and cognitive awareness through purposeful play, problem-solving, and hands-on physical activities while building their self esteem through skill-building and the accomplishment of practical tasks.
Leaf Printing Art Station
Pumpkin Decorating with Dried Flowers
Turkey Centerpiece Craft
1. LEAF PRINTING ART STATION
Let your child's imagination run wild as they explore the art of leaf printing.
Kids will use real leaves and vibrant paints to create their own unique masterpieces.
A fun way to learn about nature and the changing seasons!\
2. PUMPKIN DECORATING WITH DRIED FLOWERS
Transform ordinary pumpkins into stunning works of art using dried flowers and eco-friendly materials.
Encourages creativity and fine motor skills.
Each child gets to take home their decorated pumpkin as a festive keepsake.
TIPS for DIY pumpkin activities.
3. PLAY WITH APPLES!
Now’s a wonderful time of year to visit apple orchards!
Sensory play with apples helps children develop their senses and practice new vocabulary, building motor skills, encouraging play, and boosting confidence
Make sensory bins, apple play-dough, apple designs, and (yum) muffins!
TIPS for DIY apple activities
4. INDIAN CORN SENSORY BINS
From picking out the beautifully-colored differently sized Indian Corn together at the grocery store to picking them off and creating a colorful sensory bin, this is an easy fun activity with little mess and clean up!
Activities include spooning, sorting, and combining with beans or rice.
Use the cob for rolling play dough! - and don’t forget to keep a few to hang on the wall.
5. TELLING TIME THE MONTESSORI WAY
Now’s a good time to introduce the concept of calendars in a playful way (we enjoy this one).
A Montessori-themed calendar combines sensory motor-skills with intellectual development.
The Play Lab’s TIPS for DIY: Assigning your child tasks: pick special days to count towards and give them the fun but essential task of keeping track of the wooden coins leading up to it. This cultivates independence, responsibility, and self-esteem. It will also begin to familiarize children with the concepts of time, numbers, days of the week, months, and even seasons.
Magda’s favorite fall self-care activities for Moms
We asked the Play Lab’s founder, Magda Lahliti, to share some of her favorite self-care tips for staying relaxed as the days get darker.
“I love to craft.” She says, “ And I like to re-use things. So I make dried flower bouquets. I enjoy making handmade holiday cards using watercolor and card stock. I buy stamps and make them look good. I like to make my own gifts, so if something’s coming up I’ll make soap with dried flowers, or candles. I hold on to nice containers of candles I’ve bought and save them to put my mix in. I love to add organic oils like bergamot and lavender and musk.”
Favorite fall perfume scents include orange blossom, bergamot, and jasmine.
Magda’s Soap-making ingredients:
silicone molds (there’s some really cool ones online),
a boiler
essential oils
Lye
palm oil
coconut oil
water
A good youtube video
Magda adds: Don’t be intimidated by the soap! It’s a 30 minute prep-time with a 15 minute process, and then it cools for 24-48 hour. It’s really fun and everyone loves soap!
As always, we’d love to hear from you!
What activities do you enjoy? Share your favorite fall-fun with us so we can post it on our social media and share with everyone.
Happy Playing!
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