Fall Leaf Alphabet Movement Activity

We have been having a lot of fun with Fall leaves lately... despite the fact that we don't have any real ones on our trees yet. As part of our Back to School Basics series, we've been doing some simple alphabet activities and this week we created one using Fall leaves.

We love to tie learning with movement, so this activity gets toddlers and preschoolers moving with Fall leaves while learning new words, talking about alphabet letters and sounds, and matching letters.

Materials Needed: scissors, fall leaf template, Sharpie, painter's tape, and a lot of Fall colored cardstock

Directions for creating Fall Leaf Alphabet Movement Activity:

1. Print out Fall leaf template onto colored cardstock. I print out one set (26 pages) to use on the floor and one set to cut out (26 leaves). If you don't want to use my maple leaf, you can find a few free Fall printables here to use instead.
2. Cut out one set of leaves and write a different alphabet letter on each one.
3. Write each alphabet letter and draw a related picture that starts with the same sound on the second set of leaves. Do not cut this set out. 
4. Laminate the pieces of this game if you want them to last for longer than 1-2 sessions.
5. Spread out the alphabet leaf cards all over your floor and tape them into place using painter's tape.

Ways to Play and Learn:

Toddler Version:

• Hand toddler a leaf with an alphabet letter on it and say, "Can you put the B leaf on the ball?" The toddler will then look around on the floor and find the picture of the card with a picture of a ball on it and place the leaf on top of that card to match the B with the ball. You may need to repeat your direction more than once... but I like to make sure I wait a decent amount of time before I repeat anything. Your toddler may surprise you and follow your direction more quickly than you think she will. Mine did! 
• Put the cut leaves aside and tell your toddler to walk around on the leaf cards (taped to the floor) and following different directions to help them locate the pictures on the cards. "Put your nose on the dog," "Sit on the apple," "Hop on the cat," etc. My 4 yr old son and 21 month old daughter had a blast playing this version together. I gave them each individualized directions. 

Preschooler Version:

• Hand child a leaf with an alphabet letter on it and say, "What letter is this? What sound does it make? Can you match it to the other similar leaf on the floor?" Once your child matches the letter with the correct leaf card on the floor you can talk briefly about the picture and what sound that word starts with.
• Put the cut leaves aside and tell your preschooler to walk around on the leaf cards and follow different directions, "Can you put your elbow on the picture that starts with the sound /h/?""Can you hop to the letter that makes the /s/ sound?" etc.

Not only did we review the alphabet letters and sounds, but we talked about a variety of different action words and body parts while we did this activity! My kids had a blast and got loads of energy out at the same time!

Do you have any other favorite alphabet movement activities?

If you want even MORE Fall ideas, I highly recommend that you check out this beautiful e-book recently released by The Artful Parent.

The Artful Year: Autumn Crafts and Recipes E-book features 78 pages of autumn leaf crafts, Halloween decorations and crafts, delicious apple and pumpkin recipes, and ideas for celebrating Thanksgiving! I am excited to be an affiliate and share this e-book with you! If you click on the image below, you can see a few sneak peaks at some of the pages in the book. The Apple Cheddar Hand Pies look delicious!

To purchase the book you can click on the image above or in my right top sidebar. It is selling for $9.99, which is a steal considering all of the great ideas you will be getting! Click here to grab your own copy right away!

Also, did you happen to catch my October BabbaBox Sneak Peek post? There is a special discount code that only can be used until October 1st... so hurry and order your October box so you can discover what the surprise inside is!

Have a Happy Friday!!