CIRCLE TIME
Fall (or Autumn) is the season which comes after summer and before winter. It is the time of year, for those of us in the northern hemisphere, when hot, sunny days give way to cooler, rainy, windy ones. The plants, trees and flowers that were growing so nicely will begin to change colors and go to "sleep". Birds and squirrels that were so busy during the summer will begin to store up food so they can make it through the winter. It is also the time when many farmers begin the Harvest. This means that the fruits and vegetables that have been growing all summer are now ready to be picked!
Fall Poem:
Red and yellow, green and brown.
count off colors on fingers
Leaves are falling to the ground.
simulate falling leaves with hands
We pile them up OH SO HIGH:
'pile' leaves with hands
Then we JUMP in!
pretend to jump in
My friends and I!
BOOKSYou will need:
A sweet book that talks about the changes that come during fall!
http://www.amazon.com/Let-It-Fall-Maryann-Cocca-Leffler/dp/0545208793/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_y
The rhymes in this book help to keep the kid's attention as you read about all the fall awesome-ness!
SCRIPTURE
Harvest Puzzle
Print out the puzzle and cut on the dotted lines, or make this a scissor practice activity. Glue the puzzle to another piece of paper for display! This is a simple 6 piece puzzle for young children!
Define Harvest Time: Show the children several different kinds of vegetable or fruit seeds, then explain that they need soil, sun, and rain to grow. Explain to children that the next time it rains, they can thank God for giving plants something they need in order to provide us with food. Explain that when fruits and vegetables are fully grown, they're harvested or picked. This is a time for thanking God for taking care of us.
Psalms 126:6 He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.
SCIENCE
Exploring Acorns!Acorns are abundant around my house this time of year. I have some huge oak trees on my property. If you do not have them available to pick up off the ground, you can buy them at craft stores!
Lots of acornsA small kitchen scaleOne large and several smaller bowlsA malletMagnifying glassContainer with water
We are going to find out as much as we can about these little acorns! Acorns are a nut that grows on Oak trees. Squirrels love to eat them! During the Autumn months, the oak trees will drop all of their acorns onto the ground. Many of them will be dug up and eaten by animals, but some will get buried in the dirt and begin to sprout! This is how new oak trees are born.Engaging in Scientific Discovery is even more fun if you dress the kids up in little aprons!Set up a low table with all of the above items. Place the whole lot of acorns in the big bowl. Have the kiddos perform these experiments:
1. Weigh Them: first weigh one, then a couple of them. Are they heavy or light?2. Sort Them: you probably have some that are very small, some that are medium, and some that are really big! Sort them into the 3 little bowls.3. Use the mallet to crush a couple of them. Poke around inside and see what is in there.4. Use a magnifying glass to examine a whole one and also one that is broken. What do you see?5. Do you think they will float? Put some in the water and find out!
MATH
Fall Object SortingA for Ant
Gather actual fall objects from your yard or a park. OR, if you don't have access to any, you can use pictures printed off the internet!
Collect:
leaves
twigs
acorns
pine needles
pine cones
mini pumpkins (I don't have these in my yard, but my grocer has them)
Indian corn (same as above)
Make picture cards with the item name on it (to help them begin to recognize the written words with the objects) and place them around the table.
Place all objects in a large tub. Explain that we are going to sort the objects into groups. All of the twigs go in a group, all of the acorns in a group, etc. Allow the kids to sort together. Once they are done, discuss the characteristics that make the items different. What kinds of things could make them the same?
Sorting and classifying objects helps children become aware of how items are alike and different and creates awareness that is vital for math learning - according to Education.com.
Leaf Sequencing Cards
Visit makelearningfun.com through this LINK. Depending on the age and skill level of the kids you have, print the cards you wish to work with and laminate them, or you can print them on cardstock. Mix the cards up.
Count the leaves on the Autumn trees and look at the number printed on the trunk. Put the cards in numerical order. You can have them put them in order from small to large, or large to small. This is a great exercise in counting and order sequencing.
LETTER OF THE WEEK
We are going to work on short A again this week. Print the worksheet from first-school.com HERE.
The worksheet has traceable upper case and lower case A's for writing practice. It also has a few
short A words to practice the short A sound!
READING
Your pre-schooler can learn to read! I am a big believer in "sounding it out" so that is how I teach reading. I will be using a couple of amazing FREE websites to help me teach the kiddos...
Each week, I will post links to these sites and which parts to work on at a given time! I will also throw in some some activities as well. It is best to practice reading for about 10-15 minutes per day! Young children will end up getting bored if you try to do too much at once, so pace yourself.
Readingbear.org: this site is amazing! The story behind it is pretty cool too. Start here...
http://www.readingbear.org/ Click on the short A lesson. Play the video and learn how the short A works in words!
Starfall.com: another awesome site! This site actually has many different lessons. Go play around with it when you have a couple of minutes!
http://www.starfall.com/n/level-a/learn-to-read/play.htm?f Begin with the Alphabet movie under the Skills section on the right hand side. Then do the "an" and "at" lessons and finish with the "Zac the Rat" story!
Kizphonics.com: this site has a TON of stuff! Not all of it is free. You can become a member, if you wish.
http://www.kizphonics.com/product-types/phonics-readers/ Use the Man Cat & Rat Reader for this week.
MOTOR SKILLS
Gross: Jumping in a pile of "leaves"
Since not everyone will have piles of leaves to jump in, and if you do, you probably don't want to rake them up just to have them scattered again, we are going to make a pretend pile of leaves!
Have the kids help pile together some old pillows, blankets, towels, etc. Make the pile as big and fluffy as possible. (you will probably also want to make sure you have a large clear area for safety) Then allow the kids to jump into the pile! Each time the pile is scattered, everyone can help pile it up again.
Fine: Fall Shape Colors
I found this on Pre-kinders.com! Draw some fall shapes, such as a leaf or a pumpkin, on paper towels using a sharpie marker. Provide little dishes of food color and eye droppers.
The idea is to squirt the food color onto the shapes in order to color them. Fun! The eyedroppers make this a fine motor activity.
Go HERE to see the activity on the site!
MUSIC
Fall Leaves Song
Five little leaves so bright and gay
(hold up 5 fingers)
Were dancing about on a tree one day
(wiggle fingers)
The wind came blowing through the town
(cup hands around mouth and make wind noise)
And one little leaf came tumbling down
(bend down one finger)
**Continue the countdown to one little leaf!
Art/Craft
Art: Fall Trees
Materials Needed -
Grey or dark blue construction paper
Brown construction paper
Red, orange, yellow and brown tissue paper
Glue
Pencil
Scissors
Trace the children's forearm and hand, with their fingers spread out, onto the brown paper. Cut these out. Have the children glue their arm "trees" to the dark paper. For scissor practice, let them go crazy on the tissue paper. You will need lots of little pieces. Once you have your autumn leaves cut out, allow the kids to glue them to their arm trees. So lovely...
Craft - Bean Leaves
Materials Needed:
Cardstock
Sharpie
Scissors
A bunch of different colored dried beans
White school glue
Free hand some simple leaves onto the cardstock. Cut them out. Provide the kids with lots of beans and glue and allow them to create beautiful fall leaves by gluing the beans to the leaf cut outs.
COOKING
Ants on a Log (or a stump!)
Ingredients-
Celery, cut into sticks or bite sized pieces
Peanut butter (you can use a substitute if someone has allergies)
Raisins
I prefer to cut my celery into small pieces. My son likes them that way. So we call them ants on a stump!
Have the kids help spread the peanut butter on the celery, then top with raisins. A healthy snack and it begins with our letter of the week - A!
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