The weeks of sweltering summer heat have finally ended, and mornings are starting to get just the tiniest chill in the air. If you look up the definition of “basic,” you will find a picture of me in a cozy sweater and boots holding a pumpkin spice latte in one hand and an apple cider donut in the other, gleefully twirling about on some crunchy fall leaves, so you’ll have to forgive me for writing up some autumn inspiration for your Montessori shelves.

I’m going to go deeper into each of these themes, unit enhancements, and activities throughout the season, but here’s a good starting point in case you’re as ready for Fall as I am!

Standalone Themes

Weather and Season changes

• My favorite part about this theme is that most elements can be used at the beginning of each season. Just swap out a few things to make it specific to the season that you’re about to enter!

South American Geography

• This is such a rich theme that it can be returned to again and again. Geographic themes can be accessible to young toddlers while still engaging for older children with a few modifications.

Environmental Stewardship

• When is it not appropriate to teach children to love and care for their environment? We do this every day in our Montessori workspace, but sometimes it’s nice to have the reminder to apply this to our yard, town, biome, and world!

Enhance Existing Units

We’ve got nearly three months of autumn, and recycling previous units is a key component of helping your child build content knowledge and schema (in the traditional education sense, not the Montessori sense). Incorporating seasonal elements into a previous unit can make it feel fresh while still being familiar. After all, most themes that toddlers and young children will encounter are based on the natural world around them, and that is anything but static.

• Farm

  • harvest

• Food

  • fall fruits and veggies (squash, apples, etc.)

• Birds

  • migration

Maybe a full blown Fall theme isn’t your thing, but you’d like to incorporate some seasonal materials and activities. Explore some of the options below to add a touch of fall to your shelves!

DIYs

• Autumn leaves counting, colors, and matching

• Apple counting game

• Apple tasting

Practical Life

• Pumpkin Carving

• Roasting Pumpkin Seeds

• Rake leaves

• Garden clean-up

• Bake an apple pie

• Bake pumpkin bread

• Knit or crochet a scarf (this is completely possible for a child as young as 7)

Field Trips

• Go apple picking

• Visit a pumpkin patch

• Gon on some hayrides

• Observe the trees

• Go on a few nature walks

Heritage Months

We are so lucky to have three heritage months in the fall. Part of the beauty of Montessori inspired homeschooling is that it’s so easy to naturally include many different activities on the shelves, so we don’t have to feel that it’s necessary to force something to fit. Next week’s blog post is all about honoring the heritage months, so I won’t go into much more detail here lest I repeat myself.