If you’re unfamiliar with Active Learning Journals (ALJ) visit some of these posts here!
Next to sensory bins, active learning journals have to be a top tool in my nanny arsenal. I love that I can make specific pages fitting each child’s needs and developmental stage. An ALJ used well becomes a time capsule full of growth evidence! As always, do not feel like you have to put these pages in a journal, they can easily be recreated individually!
Make sure you check out these pages from last year for more ideas!
For these pages you’ll need:
- Pumpkin and Leaf Stickers
- Colored Dot Stickers or Dot Markers
- Markers
- Scissors
I’m super in love with this easy spider cutting page! Pro-tip: Make sure you put this page after a blank page. Nothing is worse than cutting important work! This page could also double as a pre-writing exercise by having your child trace the lines before cutting. An older child might enjoy covering each line with stickers as well.
We made this page last year with eyeball stickers (here) which was so fun! I drew a bunch of different eyes and told my 4 yr old charge to finish the monster. Kids with a huge sense of imagination will shine during this activity!
My drawing skills continue to amaze me! This pumpkin matching page could be made for letter or shape recognition as well as numbers by programing a few stickers with the skill you want your child to cover. Easy!
This double page is one of my favorites. I love these orange dot stickers to use as pumpkins on the vines! On the bottom, my 4 yr old will draw a vine between each pumpkin for fine motor practice.
Using the brown stem as a guide, the kids will draw their own pumpkin. We tried this page last year to some success. I’m excited to see what crazy pumpkins they will make this time around!
My two year old charge has just started to sort by color with no help from me! I created this fall tree page specifically for his needs. You could also use leaf stickers or do a dot markers instead of dot stickers!
I collect themed stickers like its my job, because it sorta is my job!! I’ve had a large collection of leaf and pumpkin stickers that is perfect for this sorting page. If you want to use this page over and over, don’t have your child take the back off the sticker!
Do you have a toddler who loves a challenging puzzle? I traced a few different types of leaves, acorns and pumpkins in certain colors. I pulled out just the stickers we need to limit frustration levels. My 4 yr old will match the shapes and colors while the 2 yr old will probably just match shapes. I’m not sure if we will put the stickers on the page yet!
I quickly threw together this page after I found some cute fall die cuts from my scrapbooking days! My 4 yr old had the most fun telling a story about the squirrels while she glued! You could easily cut out some leaves or use stickers.
If you use any of these pages, I’d love for you to tag me on Instagram!
https://www.instagram.com/theteachingnanny/
The Teaching Nanny 
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