As we go deeper into fall, it starts to get cold outside and we stay indoors more. But being inside doesn’t mean you can’t still enjoy the season! Today’s indoor activity, Fall Guess Bags (inspiration found here!) is a great way to bring the outside, in! It requires a little bit of preparation on your part and you’ll want to do it when the kids aren’t watching so they’re truly guessing when the time comes to play!
What you’ll need for your fall guess bags:
Small paper bags
Lots of fall things! Here are some ideas…
- acorns
- pinecones
- leaves
- a mitten
- an apple
- candy corn
- a small pumpkin
- a popcorn ball
I gathered what I had (all on the list above except for the candy corn, a pumpkin, and a popcorn ball) and placed each item in a bag. I made sure the girls understood that they were only to touch the item inside, not take it out of the bag. I also knew that M would probably not understand to not shout out what she thought it was, so I had H feel first and keep her answer in her head until M had a turn. (This didn’t work every time, but it worked most of the time!)
They really enjoyed this activity. They would feel around, get a knowing smile on their face, then wait anxiously to share what they thought was inside and check to see if they were right.
They guessed all of the fall guess bags pretty easily except for the apple and the mitten. M guessed right on the apple, but H said she thought it was a peach. In her defense, the apple was a little bit rough, so I could see her thinking. The mitten was tough. H guessed blanket and M guessed sock. I was really impressed with M’s answer! She really thought about it and honestly, a mitten and sock are pretty closet to the same! I think if I did this activity again, I would have them try to guess again if they both guessed wrong.
They also enjoyed playing with the contents of the fall guess bag afterward. I had this really huge acorn that I found last year that they liked getting to look at and hold.
A variation on this activity would be to use other senses. Close the top of the sack and shake it so they can hear the sound it makes and guess that way or have them close their eyes and smell what is in the bag. Some of the items may have no scent, but others (like the pinecone or apple) should have a pretty distinct scent.
what a great idea! you could use this idea for so many different preschool themes by changing what items are in the bag. I’m always looking for good hands on activities for my son he is going to love this. thanks for sharing!
Thank you for stopping by! Yes, I remember doing this kind of thing when I was in preschool (way back when…) and we would do lots of different themes. Letters, textures…the possibilities are endless!
Here is sunny Florida when it is summer 9 months out of the year, fall is the time we are finally able to go outside again with out melting! I love this idea, but think I’ll do it with a summer twist when the temperatures rise again and we are stuck inside. Thanks for the great idea.
Lol! Must be nice to be outside right now! Thanks for stopping by!
My daughters would also like this! My sons wouldn’t be interested until the girls did it, but I know they would have fun, too. Found your article at A Little R & R Linky Party!
Yeah, sometimes it takes other kids showing how fun something is before everyone joins in! 🙂