When fall approaches, the leaves start to change color until they finally shed completely for the winter. Crafts that show the changes in leaves help children to understand the different seasons based on the current state of the leaves. Ask your children to complete dormancy-based projects such as a cycle chart. Have the children draw four trees, one for spring, summer, fall and winter. Cut out the trees and attach them to a cycle chart that shows the progression of the seasons with summer on top, fall to the left, winter at the bottom and spring on the right.
Perhaps one of the greatest indicators of the changing season is the change in the temperature. Preschool children can understand the concept of hot and cold, which allows you to incorporate that information into educational crafts. For example, create clothing for paper dolls. Paper dolls are simple human shapes cut from poster board. Cut pieces of felt into different styles of clothing such as a t-shirt, sweater, jeans and shorts. Ask the children to dress the dolls appropriately for the season you name. For example, if it’s winter, the children should glue sweaters and full-length pants to keep the doll warm.
While most plants enjoy the warm weather of spring to start blooming, you can start a classroom activity where you raise a plant with the children even during the winter. Research the plant life in your area to find a plant that can live during the winter in your specific region. Introduce the plant to the children and teach them about caring for it. Have the children help you cultivate the winter plant as well as other plants all year-round.
Making a scrapbook for each season gives children a hands-on craft dealing with the season as well as visual aids to remember the sensations and sights of each season. Walk through the grounds of the preschool or schedule a trip for a local park. Ask the children to collect things such as leaves, nuts and other natural items that reflect the current season. Glue the items to a piece of construction paper and put it inside a binder. Take them out with the birth of a new season to collect more materials they can keep as a memento.