Looking for fun ways to teach fall nature anatomy and life cycles to your children? Ideas for beautiful posters, matching games, vocabulary cards, cut and paste activities, and nature word building mats are all included in this post! Don’t miss out on these ideas if you are teaching about apples, bats, pumpkins, turkeys, or spiders this year.
Fall is in the air and we are starting to plan our visits to the apple orchard and pumpkin patch. We also love observing spiders and learning all about bats and turkeys during this time of year! To help foster my boys’ interests, I created nature anatomy and life cycle activities for pumpkins, apples, spiders, turkeys, and bats. We are loving these activities so I thought I’d share them with you today:)
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DIY Pumpkin Life Cycle Matching Game and Poster
This life cycle matching game is easy to make and looks so cute when finished! I also created a matching poster to hang in our nature corner. You can see there are life cycle vocabulary cards that you can use as a memory matching game, clothespin onto string as a learning decoration, or use any other way you wish!
We made the matching game pieces by cutting out the images and sealing them onto wood pieces with Mod Podge. Here are some more detailed instructions:
1. Cut out the pictures you need from the Fall Nature Anatomy and Life Cycle Activities Bundle.
2. Put a little Mod Podge on a wood piece.
3. Place a picture on the wood piece with Mod Podge.
4. Seal the picture and wood piece with Mod Podge.
5. Repeat the process and let the wood pieces dry for at least 15 minutes.
Once complete, set the pieces out with the work mat and invite your child to match the pictures!
*If you are short on time, you can just print out the images onto cardstock and laminate if you don’t want to make the wood pieces. The background paper is a wood design so that creates a natural feel to the learning environment on its own.*
DIY Pumpkin Anatomy Matching Game and Poster
The pumpkin anatomy matching game is the same idea as the life cycle activities above! Review that section to see how we made the game pieces.
Rock Letter Matching Mats
Here are ”rock letter mats” for all of the pumpkin life cycle and anatomy words. Just put the mats on a metal paper ring for easy flipping, set out the letter rock, and invite kids to match the rocks to the letters.
You can get as creative as you want with the rocks! Try putting letter stickers or temporary tattoos on the rocks to add more interest. Children would love to help make them!
Cut and Paste Activities and Anatomy/Life Cycle Cards
I always create one simple activity for when I’m short on time and need something quick to set out for my boys. Plus, my boys LOVE cut and paste activities so I knew they would like these.
These are a great option if you are in a classroom or would like to assess their learning! As you can see below, there are differentiated options.
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Here are all of the fall topics covered in the Fall Nature Anatomy and Life Cycle Bundle!
Buy it here to save money! The poster, matching games, and vocabulary cards come in color and black and white options to save on ink!
Topic One: Pumpkins
Topic Two: Apples
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Topic three: Spiders
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Topic four: Turkeys
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Topic Five: Bats
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I hope you give these activities a try! I promise, your little nature lovers will love it as much as my boys.
∼Tara
