It’s that time of year where everywhere you look you see pumpkins! Not only do they get in the fall spirit but did you know that there are several activities you can do with a pumpkin that can help nurture your child’s development! Below are four ways that you and your child can have endless fun with just a pumpkin.
The weather is getting colder and the leaves are starting to change colors which means it’s fall here in Chicago! These activities are perfect for outdoor play, as well as indoor play that will help promote gross motor development for your child’s balance, strength, coordination, and motor planning skills. These activities will have your child FALLing in love with all things FALL!
What are gross motor activities and why are they important?
Gross motor activities are important for your child’s development and mobility which include crawling, walking, jumping, running, stairs, throwing, and kicking. These skills are seen throughout the development of your child as they gain more strength and mobility! Gross motor development is essential to your child’s physical well-being as well as their social and emotional growth. Creating activities that promote strengthening, balance, coordination, and motor planning are ways you can help your child meet these developmental milestones in your own home or in the community!
Check out some of these gross motor activities that your child can enjoy this fall!
Family Nature Days at Welles
Time: Saturday, Novemeber 2, 2019, from 10:00am to 12:00pm
Location: Welles Park (2333 W. Sunnyside Ave., Chicago, IL 60625)
Cost: Free
About: Family Nature day is an event for families with children of all ages. The Lincoln Park Zoo and Park District partnered up for this nature-based event which includes family scavenger hunts, bird watching, fort building, and more! In addition, the Lincoln Park Zoo staff will lead a number of educational activities.
Play for All
Time: Saturday, November 9, 2019 from 9:00am-10:00am
Location: Chicago Children’s Museum
Cost: Free to the first 100 visitors to register
About: On the second Saturday of every month, the Chicago Children’s Museum opens one hour early and invites children and families with disabilities to come explore the museum in a quieter, less stimulating environment.
A Christmas Carol: Sensory-Friendly Performance
Time: Saturday, November 23, 2019 at 2:00pm (Doors open at 1:30pm)
Location: Goodman Theatre
Cost: Tickets start at $15
About: The Goodman Theatre is putting on a sensory-friendly performance of A Christmas Carol. The sensory-friendly accommodations include lower sound level, lower lighting level, small crowds, designated quiet areas, and space for movement breaks, among others.
Chicago Thanksgiving Parade
Time: Thursday, November 28, 2019 at 8:00-11:00am
Location: State Street from Congress to Randolph
Cost: Free
About: Enjoy Thanksgiving morning with your family by coming out to the Chicago Thanksgiving Parade. The parade will include performances, marching bands, giant inflatable balloons, and much more!
Claire Hacker MS, CCC-SLP
Speech Language Pathologist
Photo Credit: happyedwards77 via Pixabay
Lincoln Park Zoo Fall Fest
Time: Fridays-Sundays, September 27-October 27th and Monday, October 14th from 10:00AM-5:00PM
Location: Lincoln Park Zoo
Cost: Free general admission; Fall Fest attractions cost $3 for 1 ticket, $27 for 10 tickets, $51 for 20 tickets
About: This year’s festival features ticketed attractions throughout the zoo, including a Ferris wheel, corn maze, corn pool, fun slide, inflatable obstacle course, and more. Guests can also enjoy animal chats, musical entertainment, a pumpkin patch, professional pumpkin carvers, and fall-themed enrichment for the animals!
Family Fall Fest 2019
Time: Saturday, October 19th from 10:00AM-12:00PM
Location: Liberty Bank for Savings, 2392 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago, IL 60647
Cost: Free
About: Come experience some great fall fun including a free reptile exhibit featuring snakes, turtles, and lizards, as well as music performed by a band from the Old Town School of Folk Music. Also enjoy glitter tattoos, face painting, a balloon artist, pony rides, a petting zoo, and much more.
Wicker Park Kidical Mass- Halloween Ride — Chicago Family Biking
Time: Sunday, October 20th from 9:30-11:00AM
Location: 1425 N. Damen Avenue, Chicago, IL 60622
Cost: Free
About: A slow, easy-going group bike ride for families and kids of all ages to encourage family fun and fitness! This ride will tour the Wicker Park neighborhood and end in the new Walsh Park. Costumes and Halloween decorations are encouraged!
Roscoe Village 5K, Fun Run, and Halloween Parade
Time: Sunday, October 20th from 8:00AM-4:00PM
Location: Hamilton and Roscoe, Chicago, IL
Cost: $50/person for Roscoe Village 5K; $20/person for the Fun Run (There will be a family discount of 15% when you register for 3 or more people before October 10th.)
About: Costumes are encouraged for all in attendance. Whether you are a serious runner, or just love to celebrate Halloween, the event will bring together running enthusiasts, school supporters, neighbors, and party-goers of all ages. Bring the family for crafts, a photo booth, food trucks, music and dancing, costume-contests, activities, and much, much more!
Lincoln Park Zoo’s Spooky Zoo
Time: Saturday, October 26th
Location: Lincoln Park Zoo
Cost: Free
About: Wear your costumes and head to Lincoln Park Zoo for family Halloween fun with a wide variety of kid-friendly activities, trick-or-treating, and arts and crafts, in addition to a Haunted House and Fall Fest rides.
Photo Credit: Laura Humble via freeimages.com
Last fall, I brought my Goddaughter and her younger sister to an amazing apple orchard/pumpkin patch called All Seasons Orchard in Woodstock, Illinois. In addition to the apple orchard, All Seasons has a corn maze, tractor and pony rides, a petting zoo, a mini zip line, tube slides and multiple bouncy houses! It is about an hour outside of Chicago, but well worth the drive! Whether you make it out to All Seasons or find an apple orchard closer to the city, check out these awesome ways to support your child’s speech and language development on your fall outings:
Vocabulary: Label both the familiar and novel items you encounter on your outing, and talk about ways to describe the new objects (big/little, soft/hard, wet/dry, etc.). You can easily teach and reinforce animal names at the petting zoo; fruits, veggies and other food labels at the country store; parts of a tree in the apple orchard; etc. Use the object labels frequently to reinforce their meaning:
“Look! A big leaf. My leaf is red. What color is your leaf? My leaf feels crunchy.”
Following simple directions: Target two skills at once by giving your child a direction using familiar attributes, such as “Put one apple in the red basket” or “Give the little pumpkin to your brother.”
Increase expressive language: There are many fun and exciting activities at the apple orchard that will have your child communicating like you’ve never seen before! If you are working on sign language, encourage requesting ‘more’ or ‘help’ for picking more apples, going down the slide, or jumping in the bouncy house, for example. If you are working on simple one- to three-word phrases, expand on your child’s utterance by one word and encourage them to imitate your model:
Child: “More!” or “Go horsie!”
Adult model: “More slide!” or “Go on horsie!”
Basic concepts: Teach basic preschool concepts, such as colors, shapes, numbers, etc. by identifying objects throughout the orchard. A simple way to target these skills is by playing “I Spy…” Encourage your child to find what you label and help them come up with their own objects for you to find!
If you would like more information on All Seasons, you can check out their website: http://www.allseasonsorchard.com/
Happy Picking!
Autumn Smith, MS, CCC-SLP