But first!
Read Our Monthly Themes for Play:
for our full list of themes
and to learn why we loveeee monthly themes.
september’s themes:
forest, woodland
we’ll also tie in leaves, fall, squirrels, acorns, trees, etc
we may add in more apple activities in the future
Activities + play invitations for her toy rotation:
could use them with this awesome, free printable when KK’s older
our beloved jumbo forest animal figurines
We always have these available for play as apart of our Favorite Toddler Toys, but they’re a great addition to this month’s theme!
also love the fake autumn leaves
acorn slides: a fine motor activity - an easy DIY activity!
See a quick tour of our playroom (and how we store our toys) in this reel.
Here’s how we store monthly activity items the rest of the year.
Magnetic activity for our big ol magnetic chalkboard near the kitchen:
I may print, laminate, and add magnets to these tree matching puzzles
Books:
Here's the three ways we store our toddler’s books.
We have a little bookshelf in our den, where we do a monthly book rotation. See a quick reel here!
And a gentle reminder that we love to ask for books for holiday/birthday gifts. Here’s the five gifts we love to ask from loved ones.
apples for everyone: national geographic picture book
a tree for all seasons: national geographic picture book
I love fall: a touch and feel board book
And we love these PaperPie books. Any time you purchase through my PaperPie links, I earn free books for our home library - KK and I send you the biggest hug of gratitude!
play hide and seek with fox: lift the flap
Art supplies + activities:
Here’s how we store our art supplies + activity books in our home.
And y’all, it’s hot. I need allllll the quiet, indoor activities.
this huuuuge coloring poster!!! saving my BOTTOM this month!
some dot marker activities like this free fall-themed pack but there’s lots of printables available online!
we use these markers or these dot stickers
these fall tree preschool activities - especially that fall button tree activity!
We only offer our forest-themed art supplies during September, our forest-themed month - so we reuse these things year after year. Here’s how we store monthly art items the rest of the year.
A gentle reminder that we love to ask for these things for holiday/birthday gifts. Here’s the five gifts we love to ask from loved ones.
Play dough activity:
our September play dough tray
some fall-colored, cinnamon-scented playdough I had from Etsy
various leaf-printed rollers + leaf-themed stampers from Etsy
a few of these fake acorns
(you can totally grab sticks and acorns and leaves outside - I just already had these on hand, and it’s still an armpit here in Texas so I avoid stepping outside at all costs unless it’s to get in a pool, generally speaking)
Also:
Here’s how we store our art supplies and our play dough tools.
Here’s how we store these monthly play dough items the rest of the year.
Here's a post on our favorite play dough, our favorite tools, and when we use play dough.
Sensory bins:
KK loves her two sensory tables! For this month’s sensory bin, I added:
a bunch of oats (+ generous sprinkle of cinnamon)
tiny, fake, red and green apples
two different colors so KK can sort them if she wants
or I may just use a few apples from this awesome apple sorting set we have in this month’s play kitchen - more on this in a second!
or, or! I may add these tiny pumpkins and acorns.
various spoons, scoops
these sensory bin recipe cards to make apple pie (for KK to grow into as an activity when she’s older, but for now she loves “reading” them)
I also love the idea of adding an empty cinnamon shaker and some felt lattice crust like in this pin!
See the reel showing this month’s sensory bin (and Toddler KK playing with it) here.
See a quick tour of our playroom with KK’s two sensory tables in this reel.
Here’s how we store these monthly sensory bin items the rest of the year.
We have a separate, simple rice bin - like this Busy Toddler post! - that KK LOVES.
inspired by this sorting autumn leaves sensory bin, I think I’ll add:
a few of the fake autumn leaves
some of these acrylic autumn leaves
a leaf tray we had from Etsy or Hobby Lobby or somewhere
a color sorting acorn/bowl set I had from Etsy like this
a few of these mini baskets I had leftover from this month’s sensory bin
various measuring cups and spoons
Play kitchen:
Here’s a quick reel on the 13 things we keep in our play kitchen. And then each month we rotate 2-3 “new” food or cooking toys. This rotation works really well for us!
So in September, I will add…
this waffle set, as a nod to our September 24th tradition. traditions make the best play inspiration!
some sort of apple set, as a nod to our Annual Apple Tasting Dinner:
kk loves playing with these, even if she doesn’t understand they’re for fractions yet. they’re magnetic and come apart in different amounts - halves, thirds, and fourths! they’re awesome.
another awesome set! kk loves playing with these - talking about them, making “soup” with them, using them to make pies, etc.
Also:
Here’s how we store these monthly kitchen toy items the rest of the year.
See a quick tour of our playroom with our play kitchen in this reel.
Here’s a blogpost on our DIY-ish Play Kitchen with a Phone and Mailbox.
Resources + other ideas:
It’s so hot - this time of year is usually when we prioritize our special trips to the children’s museum, the aquarium, the shaved ice place, the beloved ice cream shop, etc.
I use My Local Places List for this!
Our Packed Pool Bag + Outdoor Adventure Bag for alllll our pool trips + splash pad trips.
Whew!
Want to see photos? Follow me on Instagram - I’m always sharing peeks into our home and our daily life on my stories. I’m always tweaking our home and our routines and our systems to best meet our current needs in our current season, so my Instagram has the most up-to-date photos.
Loved this post? I highly recommend the “play area” highlight on my Instagram!
Read Our Monthly Themes for Play for our full year of play themes.
I created these monthly play themes as part of my baby prep for Baby #2. See the full list of other things I’m SO happy I did to make Joey’s arrival easier here!
And see my Amazon storefront for more of our favorite things.
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