Fall : Do-A-Dot

Do-A-Dot Art! is a pack of sponge tip paints/markers that are washable. There are multiple packs, multiple colors, and different coloring books designed especially for these markers. I found our set at Michael's, our local craft store. Here's how we started talking about Fall with our 2 year old.

Ages: As early as they can pound on a piece of paper with these markers. :) I just found them recently, but my daughter would have been able to handle them much earlier.

Materials Needed:
*Book about fall (We read When Autumn Comes by Robert Maas)
*White paper
*Do-A-Dot markers (green, red, yellow, orange)


Prep:
*The night before I painted a bare tree for her to put leaves on
*Choose an appropriate book to teach about fall (or apples).




Activity:
1. Read the story, talking about what happens in the Fall/Autumn.
2. Make sure you point out the changes in the trees.
3. Show your child how to dot on the leaves.
4. Let them stamp away! Try not too be too involved. I have a tendency to want crafts to look a certain way (like actually looking like a fall tree when she's done) but sometimes that takes the fun and creativity away from your child. I just try to keep on on the paper (rather than hands, clothes, or tables).




To do this activity with apples:
*Read an apple book. We read Apples, Apples, Apples by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace. It's a great story about a bunny family that goes to an apple orchard to pick apples. There are graphs that older children would understand, and diagrams of an apple. The farmer explains how apples grow, and at the end of the story there is a recipe, a song, and a painting craft. Apple tasting (red vs. yellow vs. green) is very appropriate with this story.
*Use Do-A-Dot markers to make an apple tree.
*We also talked about the parts of the apple (since there is a diagram). We cut open an apple and used the terms in the book to talk about what each part does, which part we eat, etc (skin, flesh, seeds, stem, leaves).

Extensions:
* For older children, you can fold a piece of paper into 4 squares. Paint a bare tree in each square. Label Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter. Read Arnold's Apple Tree, a great book about the progression of an apple tree through the seasons. Use the Do-A-Dots or a Q-tip and washable paint to dot the leaves, buds, flowers, and snow on the trees.

*For any age group, use animal stamps or stickers and add the appropriate animals to the pictures. You can make it a counting activity as well "Let's add one squirrel. Let's add 2 birds. Let's add 3 blossoms, 4 red apples, etc."

*You can add pictures of people (from a magazine, stick people, real photos) and dress them appropriately for the season. I took pictures of family and just asked her what they should wear to pick apples ("Should Mommy wear a bathing suit in the fall? Should Daddy have gloves? What is the weather like? So since the weather is ____, then he should wear ___.")

*We went to the grocery store and chose one of each kind of apple to taste. She had a great time helping me choose good apples from each display. We later took them home and tasted. I let her take a bite out of each apple to see which she liked the most and to talk about different flavors and textures (sweet, sour, hard, soft, etc). Then I chopped them up and we used the recipe in the book (Apples, Apples, Apples) to make applesauce.