Fall Nature Collages: The Power of Nature in Early Education

Autumn is a season of vibrant colors and changing landscapes, offering a perfect backdrop for immersive learning experiences that fuse nature, creativity, and education. Whether you’re an early childhood educator, a parent, or simply someone with a love for fostering curious minds, there’s something truly enchanting about crafting fall nature collages with young learners. In this journey, we’ll delve into the captivating process of discovering, sorting, creating, and learning while celebrating the wonders of the natural world.

As an early childhood teacher, you know that organization and presentation are key to creating a positive learning environment. But with so many responsibilities, it can be difficult to find the time and energy to tackle these tasks or refresh the classroom from time to time. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of six simple teacher hacks that will help you keep your classroom organized and decorated to create a safe and inviting learning environment. 

1. Label everything. Labeling is an easy and effective way to help your students learn how to put things away correctly. Use clear and simple labels to mark items like books, toys, and art supplies, and place them at the child’s eye level. This will help your students take ownership of their classroom and learn how to take care of it independently.

2. Use various storage containers. Transparent storage containers are a great way to keep your classroom organized and make it easy for your students to see what’s inside. Use them to store items like art supplies, manipulatives, and books, and be sure to label each container so that your students know where everything belongs. Storage baskets are also a way to show the resource more visually and warm up the classroom!

image courtesy of @aprilmaura on instagram

3. Utilize vertical space. When you’re short on space, think vertically! Use shelves, hanging organizers, and wall-mounted racks to keep items off of the floor and out of the way. Use wall clips or string to mount or clip your children’s artwork along the wall to brighten up the room and instill pride. Perhaps a cozy reading or calming corner would also benefit from colorful hanging lights or canopies to soften the landscape! 

4. Incorporate nature into your classroom decor. Adding natural elements to your classroom, like plants, rocks or stones, and shells, can help create a calming and inviting atmosphere for your students. Nature works wonderfully into loose part play.  Not only that, but incorporating nature into your classroom decor is also a great way to teach your students about the natural world and how to take care of the environment. It’s an easy and cost-effective way to soften your learning environment. 

image courtesy of @aprilmaura on instagram

5. Create flexible seating arrangements. Having different seating options in your classroom allows your students to choose the type of seating that works best for them. This can include traditional small tables and chairs, special learning centers, bean bags, floor cushions, and special reading nooks!  By providing different seating options, you can create a more comfortable and versatile learning environment for your little learners.

6. Use colorful tape to create fun on the tables and floor. Instead of just creating borders, use colorful tape to create designs on surfaces like tables, chairs, and storage containers. This is a fun and easy way to add some color and personality to your classroom while also labeling items or creating a visually appealing area. You can also use tape to create new and inviting mazes, patterns or challenges on the floor–a new adventure every week!

What are easy and fun ways you warm up and create a fun and engaging learning space for your early childhood center? We’d love to know!

Have a moment to share with us? Be sure to tag us and use the hashtag #constructiveinsights in your post. We’d love to potentially feature you on our social feeds and/or in an upcoming email!

The weather is warming up and there is no better time to get outside to shake up the learning experience. It is as simple as moving typical indoor activities outside--lego building on the patio--or going on a leisurely walk looking for the many things in bloom! Do a kid-friendly workout class to music near the playground or practice those yoga moves in the grass; there are so many fun options.  

Check out how Taylor Wyatt at @CompleteMomSense is spending her time outside, incorporating science and discovery as well as lots of fun!

Spring is officially in full bloom and it is the perfect season to spend time outdoors doing activities and experiments with your kids! It’s easy to think of outside play including water and sand activities, but this time of year my daughters and I really enjoy exploring nature and learning about the insects that we see everyday. 

My whole family is currently watching the life cycle of a butterfly with the butterfly garden. Every day we check on our caterpillars and wait for the changes to occur. It’s a great talking point to go outside and see butterflies and have a dialogue about how they start as caterpillars and over time change into butterflies. I also love that it comes with manipulatives that represent each phase - egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, and butterfly! This helps us to see the stage they’re in and what’s to come. We can’t wait to release our butterflies into the wild!

Water tables, sand pits, and mini pools are all the rage and for good reason! Not only are they every child’s favorite, they encourage pretend play, aid fine and gross motor skills, and promote sensory experiences. With any of these options you can throw in cups, scoops, utensils, bowls, and have your kids do transfer activities to improve hand eye coordination. If you add in some food coloring you can watch primary colors transfer to secondary colors. 

Outdoor play is essential for children. The good news is there are so many activities available to help keep it engaging and fun! We are looking forward to having all the fun in the sun this year. Be sure to follow along with us to see how our butterfly garden progresses in the coming weeks!

                                              FEATURED PRODUCTS:

Board Book Classic - The Very Hungry Caterpillar - PU-690

Encased Butterfly Collection - ESE-422

Tree Rings - TEB-12

Butterfly Dominoes - MTC-385

Have a moment to share with us? Be sure to tag us and use the hashtag #constructiveinsights in your post. We’d love to potentially feature you on our social feeds and/or in an upcoming email!