Mama Pea Pod: {Play with Chestnuts, Acorns, and Walnuts}

18 Ways to Play

With

Chestnuts, Acorns, & Walnuts

Now that Autumn / Fall is here, the girls are going crazy collecting chestnuts, acorns, and walnuts! Chestnut trees, oak trees, and walnuts trees all grow in abundance around here, and every day they come home with pocketfuls they've collected or bagfuls from our generous neighbour. (I just found 4 walnuts in my purse that they must have popped in there!)

We usually take our annual autumn walks to collect chestnuts and acorns around this time of year. This year we also brought home some logs, but that will be another post!

They enjoy trying to smash the walnuts open with a big rock (or even by jumping on them). Princess Pea eats them by the handful, while Sweet Pea prefers to play with them over actually eating them.

Princess Pea made a sweet little walnut sailboat at preschool last week, using a toothpick and a couple bits of construction paper - quite similar to these walnut boats by Red Ted Art.

The girls love to play with the nuts in all sorts of ways. They make for great sensory play, math play, and fine motor play.

Do you have walnuts, acorns and chestnuts around, too? Why not try:

* sorting them into the different types of nuts
* counting them
* ordering them by size
* scooping and pouring them in a sensory bin
* painting with them (my class made chestnut versions of these golf ball paintings as part of our recent science unit on forces and motion)
* using them as loose parts to pair with play dough
* testing whether they float or sink
* practicing fine motor skills by moving them from one bin to another with a spoon/tongs
* serving them up (with a spoon and fine motor skill) at teddy bears' tea parties!