Make Fall Learning Cozy & Catholic with the Fall Market Playschool Kit (+ 7 Ways to Use It)

Fall weather has really settled in to stay it seems here in the Midwest, and the official first day of Fall isn't that far behind it. With it has come some chilly mornings and turning leaves; we are lucky to have some falling apples in our own backyard to boot!

The school year has started to settle in also, but it isn’t the end of fun new things around here. We are excited to introduce the second edition of our Fall Catholic Playschool Kit! Under the patronage of St. Charles Borromeo (did you know he was also the patron saint of apple orchards?), we again bring you 100+ pages of Catholic fall activities.

First, lets get into what exactly is included in the updated Fall Catholic Playschool Kit, and then I’ll share some of the ways my kiddos have liked to use them at the end.

🍂What’s Inside

The Fall Market Catholic Playschool Kit gives you everything you need for ready-to-use fall themed learning, infused with a Catholic perspective. As always, the Playschool Kit features hands-on, flexible activities that can be adapted for kids of multiple ages. These activities can be tailored to be as open-ended or structured as you prefer. This edition offers plenty of core-skills practice, all while seamlessly integrating our Catholic Faith into the autumn theme.

Whether you homeschool, or are just looking for a Catholic seasonal activity supplement on your off days, this kit has something for preschoolers-early elementary learners.

Included you will find:

🤲Prayer and Scripture

• Bible verse flashcards & memory game on harvest and gratitude

• A Little Book of St. Charles Borromeo (patron of apple orchards)

• Rosary Decade Dot activity with a fall twist

🧮Counting, Number Fluency, and Early Math

• Count & Clip

• Apple Addition & Subtraction

• Ten Frames Activity

• Count by 1s, 2s, 5s, 10s puzzle strips

• Apple Size Sorter

• Apple Seed Counting

✍️Letter, Word, and Handwriting Practice

• Handwriting Practice with Seasonal Words (apple, pumpkin, pie, leaf)

• Wind and Cafe Tracing

• Missing Letter Maze

• Fall Note-booking

🧑‍🌾Dramatic Play, Sensory Exploration, and Creative Building

• St. Charles’s Fall Market stand, order forms, play money, price tags, banners, and role-play props

• Sensory Activity Mats: Market Stand, Garden Harvest, Pumpkin Carving Station, Apple Orchard, Pie Making, Soup Making, Fall Leaves, Apple Seed Counting

• Magnetic Tile Toppers: Counting, Letter Matching, Etch & Erase

• Etch and Erase Shapes: Pumpkin, Apples, Leaves, Maple Syrup, Truck Bed, Pie, Corn, Butternut Squash, Trees

• Etch and Erase Letter Blending Mat & Letter Blending Finger Puppet

🧵Fine Motor Skill Practice

• Fall Lacing Cards, Shape Cut & Paste, Shadow Match, Leaf Color and Cut, & Complete the Fall Picture

🍎Seasonal Fun

• Apple Anatomy, Word Search, Complete the Picture, Spot the Difference, & I-Spy

🎲Games:

• Build a Story Game, Amen (Bingo) Game, Bible Memory Verse Game

🍏Fall Charts, Posters, and Banners

• Fall Banner, Fall Alphabet Poster, Count to 100

🍁 7 Ways to Use the Fall Catholic Playschool Kit

One of the best things about the Fall Catholic Playschool Kit is how flexible it is. The activities can be as structured or as open-ended as you need, making it easy to adapt for different ages, learning styles, and routines. Remember, The kit is designed to inspire creativity and doesn’t have to be used in only one way!

Here are ten simple ways to get the most out of it:

1. Morning Basket or Morning Menu Additions
   Slip activity sheets, scripture cards, or handwriting practice into a morning basket/menu for a gentle, seasonal start to the day.

2. Pretend Play Centers
   Kids can use the dramatic play props to set up a market stand, café, or fall festival at home. These can be left out for independent play or used as a group activity.

3. Reusable Activities with Lamination
   Laminating tracing, math, and sensory mats allows kids to use them again and again with dry-erase markers or manipulatives like playdough.

4. Sensory Play Invitations
   Pair sensory mats with materials like playdough, beans, rice, or pom-poms for open-ended exploration that reinforces math, counting, and fine motor skills.

5. Seasonal Décor
   Hang banners, posters, or completed cut-and-color projects on the wall, fridge, or a twine display. Finished work doubles as personal and affordable home décor.

6. Quiet Time or Church Bag
   Slip a few laminated cards, lacing activities, or small games into a pouch or bag for quiet play during rest time, car rides, or Mass.

7. Family Game Nights
   Use the Bible memory, bingo, or storytelling games for a family-friendly, faith-filled alternative to board games.

🏡How We Use The Fall Catholic Playschool Kit in Our Home

We don’t tend to get around to some of the classic fall field trips - we have never been to a pumpkin patch. But we do like to enhance our days at home with fun seasonal activities. My kids were huge fans of the Fall Morning Menu, and were really excited to have some new fall activities to try!

What I love most about this kit is the variety. We have an 8, 6, 5, 2, and 1 year old in our home, and, except for the baby, there was something for everyone here. There are so many activities, we haven’t had a chance to try them all yet!

So far, the Fall Market pretend play items have been the biggest hit with my children. I planned on laminating the pieces to extend their life, but I didn’t get a chance to yet as the kids excitedly began cutting out the pieces together. They quickly set up a market in their room, taking turns buying and selling. Even our new 1 year old has been pushing her shopping cart around the market and making everyone laugh (security was eventually called).

The paper activity pages have also been a huge hit. The kids have easily been able to pick the activity that suites them best with my older kiddos gravitating towards the word search and drawing activities and my 5 year old preferring the matching and cut & paste activities. Currently, the kids have just been completing the printed sheets, but I plan on adding a few of them to our Morning Menus as well.

My 2 (almost 3 year old) loves the magnetic tile topper matching activities. This was a new concept in our home, and a genius one at that. He desperately wants to do puzzles but fumbles with the fine motor skills of putting them together. With the magnetic tile toppers, I’ve been able to use the premade ones or make our own Etch & Erase ones for him to match together in a way that’s much more suited to his age.

We have a hung piece of twine in front of one of our windows that we clip various creations, seasonal items, and liturgical living ‘decor’ to, depending on the season. We plan on using this to hang the fall banner on as well as the other fall items the kids have completed from the kit!

The kids have mentioned that they want to help hole punch the lacing craft (thought I’ve told them they really have to wait for me to laminate that one!), make the St. Charles book, and get out the playdough to use with the activity mats next!

Whether your family is all about checking off a fall activity bucket list, or you just want something Catholic, cute, and simple to make the season feel special-the Fall Catholic Playschool Kit is such a sweet addition to your home.

Let us know how your family enjoys it!