Following the girls interest in peeling, I thought it would be fun to put this little window activity together. It came to me when on the phone with a dear friend as she was shopping. She mentioned getting halloween window clings for her daughter, a family tradition, and she said that one particular group had leaves, perfect for Thanksgiving. I mentioned painting a tree and decided this would be something the girls may enjoy, too.

Mixing a drop of liquid dish soap with brown acrylic paint, I painted a tree and branches on the sliding glass door (always test to ensure clean-up safe). The girls love to clean this window and, when we are finished enjoying this particular fall activity, they may want to aid in washing the tree off (yay practical life).

I bought these realistic looking window cling leaves just for this work. The girls can peel them off, place them on their tree, peel them off again and stick them again. A fun cycle enjoyed by both. While I have only given them the smaller leaves so far, I plan go offer them a few acorn clings next as they are a little smaller thus providing more of a challenge.

 

This activity, while fun, uses fine motor movement–using those little fingers to peel and stick–and gross movement–moving those arms and legs to reach and crouch. Using the pincer grasp to peel the leaves, they are building the muscles in their hands that will be necessary for writing, in time.

This same activity could be created by hanging large art and craft paper, with a drawn tree, and stickers. Or, for more of a challenge, paper taped to the table or floor and leave cut outs with glue.

I like the girls being able to use the decals over and over whenever they desire and with no assistance–so for the time being we’ll stick with the window tree.

When I first showed them the leaves and tree, E did it for over 20 minutes (I had an appointment and they stayed home with daddy). I’ve noticed that, while they will place the leaves in random locations, they also like to layer them–which is an activity all on its own and fun to watch.

Is your little one helping decorate for fall?

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