🎓 Skills Your Child Will Develop

• 🧠 Brain-Body Connection — Research consistently shows that physical activity directly improves concentration, working memory, and academic readiness — making fitness time one of the highest-return educational investments in a preschooler's day.
• 🤸 Flexibility & Agility — Stretching, bending, and quick direction changes develop flexibility and agility — the physical qualities that support athletic movement, injury prevention, and the body confidence that active children carry through life.
• 🤝 Social Skills & Teamwork — Physical games with partners or groups teach children to cooperate, cheer for others, follow a leader, and recover from competitive disappointment — the social-emotional skills that classroom cooperation requires.
• 🌱 Lifelong Active Habits — Children who have joyful physical experiences in the preschool years are dramatically more likely to be active adolescents and adults — making every positive movement experience an investment in lifelong health.

With the fall season upon us, there are a variety of outdoor fall activities to enjoy that promote preschool physical fitness. Depending on where you live in the world, you may be experiencing more of a seasonal shift than in other areas – that may include some of the images we associate with autumn, such as leaves changing colors and the weather turning brisker. No matter where you live, there are certain to be an abundance of fall activities that you can enjoy with your preschooler.

Fall Leaf Adventures

As the leaves begin to change colors and start to fall, it's time for one of those "simple pleasure" fall activities -- raking leaves, then jumping in! Raking leaves is an excellent preschool fall fitness activity because it's hard work! Get your preschooler his/her own size rake so that it's a little easier to handle. The effort you and your preschooler put forth for this fall activity is a tremendous way to work muscles and work together towards a common goal -- building the most awesome pile of leaves! Once you have the leaves piled to your preschooler's liking -- running, jumping, and rolling are all part of the fun and provide excellent opportunities for movement. The crunch of the leaves as your preschooler dives in is an added delight!

Catch a Falling Leaf

Another fun fall activity with leaves is catching them as they drop from the trees. Your preschooler will benefit from running to catch each leaf and build coordination skills as they try to catch the leaves floating to the ground. Watch out though -- this is a tricky activity, since leaves randomly fall and it's not always easy to catch them in time. This can really turn into a fun and giggly way to get your preschooler running around the backyard or at a local park. Make a game out of it by creating a “race” to catch each dropping leaf, count them as they fall, or call out the next color leaf that must be caught.

Fall Nature Walks

Fall nature walks, like any walking activity, provide an excellent preschool exercise opportunity. The more walking your little one does, the more fit their muscles will become and the more stamina they will build as they are able to walk greater distances. Discuss the elements of nature that you view as you're walking -- including changing leaf colors, pinecones and acorns that fall from the trees, birds, bugs, and flowers that you see on your walk. Bring along a notepad to serve as a “field journal” that your preschooler can use to draw animals and plants they see during the adventure. 

Collect leaves and flowers along your journey -- you can use your findings for a variety of fun fall activities:

- Leaf rubbings
- Pressing leaves or flowers
- My Leafy Family craft
- Preschool nature collage

Fall Festivals and Fall Harvests

Fall also brings a variety of celebrations for the season -- check for local fall preschool activities such as a fall festival, fall harvest celebration, or pumpkin farm activities. There are certain to be a number of fall activities that your preschooler will enjoy taking part, including:

- Jumping in hay
- Picking a pumpkin
- Taking a hay ride
- Walking through a corn maze  

Other Fall Activities

No matter what your fall activity is, it's certainly a time of year when most parents can get their preschoolers outside to enjoy the fresh air -- in some climates that may mean cooler temperatures than in others. Some areas enjoy a drop in tourists, so take this opportunity to visit areas that are now crowd-free, including zoos, parks, aquariums, museums, and more. Fall also brings more gardening opportunities – whether planting bulbs, picking up sticks, or clipping back plants for the winter, your preschooler will love to take part in a fall gardening activity.

I'm Wendy Michaels, the Preschool Fitness writer and associate editor for PreschoolRock.com. With an active preschooler of my own, I've experienced how easy it is to include exercise and healthy habits into a preschooler's daily activities. I'd love to hear more about your ideas for promoting fitness with your own preschooler. Please contact me with any suggestions, ideas or questions.