Autumn activities
In the autumn, there are many activities you can enjoy with your baby, toddler or pre-schooler. Request your 52 Things to do before you’re 5 activity pack to help you support your child's home learning and development and at the same time have fun together!
Week 35: Write a letter
Write a letter or draw a picture to someone special. Talk about the letter or picture, what did it say and why is this person special? If you want, post it to them.
Your child will enjoy drawing and writing a letter to someone special. Talk to your child about what they have drawn and if it has a meaning and why the special person will like it. They will start to develop their small muscle coordination and be confident using a wide range of utensils such as chalk, smaller brushes, pencils and pens.
Week 36: Showtime!
Go to Derby Festé, a free festival, to enjoy the fun spectacle of some contemporary music and dance, wonder at the unique street theatre and huge installations.
Your child will be excited to see the wide range of street performances and art installations. There will be lots of opportunities to support your child’s speech and language development. Talk about what you can see and hear. Try and use open ended questions that encourage your child to talk in more depth using descriptive language.
Week 37: Make your mark
Get creative and make your mark. Use paint, crayons or chalks. Make spots, circles, lines and handprints. Encourage your child to tell you all about their drawing.
Your child will enjoy drawing freely and will want to tell you about their picture. Talk to them about the marks they have made. Maybe there are special people in their picture, or their marks may represent their name. You can draw alongside your child and talk about the marks you are making - up, down, round and round, side to side.
Week 38: Build a tower
Find different shaped blocks, books, boxes, toys, cushions, plastic cups or anything your child wants to build a big wobbly tower together!
Your child will learn about shapes and how they can be used to build with. You can talk about and explore 2D and 3D shapes like circles, rectangles or triangles using mathematical words like sides, corner, straight, flat or round. Encourage your child to talk about these shapes and how and why they are different.
Week 39: Visit your children's centre
Find your nearest children’s centre and register online to enjoy all their fun activities!
Your local children centre offers great opportunities for your child to mix with other children and make new friends. You can help your child by encouraging them to watch the other children playing and then gradually suggest ways in which they could join in and be part of the fun.
Week 40: Junk models
Collect cereal packets, cardboard tubes, empty containers, plastic bottles or any kind of junk you have at home. Use paints, glue, sticky tape or glitter to create your junk model.
Children enjoy exploring different shapes and textures. Ask your child what they want to create and let them develop their own ideas before offering suggestions. As they build their creations, allow your child to experiment with how to join different items together, using a wide range of materials.
Week 41: Museum of Making
Visit the Museum of Making and celebrate Derby’s 300-year history of making things in exhibitions and galleries. There’s lots for all the family and some special events too.
Your child will be able to investigate how things work. Look at the enormous Rolls-Royce Trent engine in the entrance and talk about how it makes aeroplanes fly! Or find the old telephone switchboard and talk about how phones used to have cables. Your child will be fascinated to see how things work and how machines have changed over time.
Week 42: Jumping autumn
Grab your coat and wellies. Go outdoors to splash in muddy puddles. Collect fallen leaves, jump, run and scatter them about! Try the park equipment to practice climbing.
Once your child has started to move, they will enjoy practicing their skills and become more confident. Outside they can try out new ways of moving. Try jumping in a puddle then making some footprint, or experiment with climbing and balancing. Your child will learn to develop overall body-strength, balance, coordination and agility.