Fall Into Learning in Glenwood, MD
How Seasonal Themes Boost Preschool Education
At Your Journey Nursery & Preschool in Glenwood, Maryland, we believe that learning happens all around us — in the classroom, on the playground, and especially in the changing seasons. Incorporating seasonal themes into early childhood education isn’t just fun; it’s a powerful way to engage young learners, connect curriculum to real-life experiences, and deepen their understanding of the world.
Here’s how we use fall as a catalyst for growth, learning, and exploration — and how you can see this in action at our preschool.
Why Seasonal Learning Matters
Our curriculum emphasizes a broad range of learning domains: science, social-emotional learning, art, social studies, and more. When we tie these domains into the natural rhythms of the seasons, children experience concepts in meaningful, tangible ways.
For example:
Leaves changing color? That’s science in action—children observe and classify differences in shape, color, texture.
Cooler mornings and warmer afternoons? That gives opportunity to talk about weather, dress appropriately, routines, transitions.
Harvest time and fall festivals? These tie into social studies (community, culture), art (crafting with natural materials), and even math (counting apples, comparing sizes).
By anchoring learning in the “real world” of fall, children are not just memorizing facts— they’re making sense of their environment, developing vocabulary, reasoning skills, and curiosity.
How We Do It at Your Journey
Here’s how our program integrates seasonal themes in meaningful ways:
Curriculum Integration
On our “School Curriculum” page, our center explicitly lists the category “weather / seasons” under the “Broadening Our Lens” section—meaning holiday, national days, weather, seasons and appreciating diversity are part of our regular planning.
Hands-On Activities & Outdoor Exploration
When fall arrives, our classrooms and outdoor spaces become rich learning zones. Leaves to collect and compare, pine cones and acorns to count and explore, crisp mornings to discuss how the air feels differently. Children can measure leaf lengths, sort by color, predict how many will fall today, or observe how trees change.
Art & Sensory Play with Autumn Materials
Fall offers sensory-rich materials: leaves of various textures, pumpkins, gourds, hay bales, seasonal smells. Through art, children express what they see and feel—leaf prints, pumpkin carving (age-appropriate), gluing natural items, painting the changing sky. These are projects both fun and educational.
Social-Emotional & Community Connections
Falling leaves also bring change—and change is a wonderful way to talk about emotions, transitions, and community. At Your Journey, we encourage children to share how the outdoors makes them feel, what seasons they like, and how the world around them changes. This builds self-awareness and relationship skills.
Link to Family & Community Events
Because we’re located in Howard County (serving families around Columbia, Ellicott City and Glenwood) and know how important family engagement is, the season offers natural connection points: pumpkin‐picking outings, family fun events, autumn festivals. These tie the school experience to home life and community, strengthening the home-school link.
Benefits for the Children
When preschoolers engage with seasonal themes, the payoff is broad:
Deeper engagement — Because children recognize the connection between what they’re learning and what they see and experience outside.
Vocabulary growth — Words like “crisp,” “deciduous,” “harvest,” “acorn,” “migration,” “hibernate” become accessible through real-life experiences.
Science-thinking skills — Observing, predicting (“What will the leaves do next?”), classifying, comparing — all built around fall.
Fine and gross motor development — Collecting leaves, sorting, gluing, outdoor play in cooler weather.
Emotional & social growth — Understanding change, transitions, difference; sharing experiences of outdoor discovery with peers; building community.
Family connection — Fall themes at school give great opportunities for families to extend learning at home: nature walks, leaf hunts, backyard art.
How Parents Can Join the Learning at Home
Here are simple ways you as a parent can reinforce and extend the fall-themed learning happening at Your Journey:
Take a nature walk together—collect leaves, acorns, pine cones. At home ask: how many colors did we find? Which leaf is the largest?
Create a “changing seasons” chart—use your own yard or local park. Each week mark what’s changed (leaf color, temperature, animals).
Use autumn art materials—paint or glue using leaves, twigs, pumpkins. Ask your child what textures they feel, what shapes they see.
Talk about weather and dressing—on crisp fall mornings, ask: Why do we wear a jacket now? How is the air different?
Connect to family time and traditions—make leaf prints, carve safe pumpkins, collect leaves for a collage. Share what the child did at preschool and ask them to teach you something.
Read seasonal books—choose picture books about fall, trees changing, animals preparing for winter. Ask questions: what do you think will happen next?
Use everyday math and science—count acorns, compare sizes, sort leaves by color or shape, ask what would happen if we left a leaf in the shade vs in the sun.
As the leaves turn and the air cools, we invite our children, our families, and our community to learn together, explore together, and celebrate the rhythms of nature.
We hope this gives you a deeper view of how seasonal themes like fall are woven into our program — toward the goal of nurturing curious, confident, early learners prepared for what’s next.
Ready to tour? If you’re curious how our fall-learning activities come alive in our Glenwood, MD preschool, schedule a visit and see how we bring nature, community and curriculum together.
