fall Theme.doc

There are a number of fall (autumn) activities on the tinsnips link:

http://www.tinsnips.org/Pages/autumn.html

www.tlsbooks.com/matchtheleaves.htm

http://www.alphabet-soup.net/mini/fall.html

http://kidscrafts.suite101.com/article.cfm/gingham_pumpkin_color_match_game

  This site has an adorable pumpkin to color word matching game

www.preschoolprintables.com

Under file folder games heading, find 3 free games (color and B&W versions)

    Falling for Shapes - leaf shape matching

    Pumpkin Patch - maybe more Halloween - match pumpkin faces

    Scarecrow Colors - color match

    Fall Money - a worksheet to add up change

    Autumn Word Search

    Fall addition - very simple plus one worksheet

    Fall Folder Game - very nice matching fall sets to numerals 1-10

    Leaf Subtraction Worksheets (simple, using sets)

    Leaf Count and Color worksheet

    Leaf Concentration

    Leaf Activities from The Activity Idea Place at 123child.com

    Leaf Counting Booklet _numbers 1-10

    Paper Scarecrow craft

    Scarecrow song

    Nature Walk Checklist

Clothes pins angels

Need a clothes pin, markers, glue, channel stem, and fabric or paper leaves.

Let the kids color the clothespin with markers.  Wrap a channel stem around the pin below the head for arms.  Give her a leaf skirt and leaf wings.  You can hang them too if you tie a string to the channel stem before you wrap it.

Old Phone Book Projects:
1. Cut various sizes and types of leaf shapes from the pages of old phone books and place them in the Art Center for children to use in their creative "Fall" projects.
2. Although phone book pages aren't quite as thin as tissue paper, children can still "scrunch" pieces into smaller shapes to create 3-dimensional looking "fall leaves" or "fall tree" projects.  ("Scrunching paper" is a great fine motor activity.)

Gross Motor: Provide small rakes and let children rake real leaves somewhere outdoors

Game:

Leaf Blow

Have children take a nature walk and collect different. Once indoors, have the children blow a leaf across a table with a straw.  Have a leaf race and see who can blow their leaf across the table first.

Leaf Memory

Collect five or six leaves.  Trace their shape onto a piece of paper.  Place the leaves next to the paper tracings.   Have the children place the appropriate leaf over the correct leaf tracing

Foods

Chipmunk Chow

Pop popcorn and season with low fat margarine and parmesan cheese.  Combine it with some Cheerios, unsalted nuts, small pretzels, raisins, other dried fruit, etc.  Put in a sandwich bag and tie with ribbon.

Make and drink Apple Cider

Let the children taste honey on crackers.  Talk about where the honey comes from.

Have an apple tasting party. 

Art Experiences

On a bulletin board draw a large tree trunk.  Provide the children with sponges and let them sponge paint leaves on the tree with fall colors.  You can even put animals in the tree.  You could also do this on a smaller scale with each child having their own tree just supply smaller sponges.

Make Leaf People.  Attach real leaves to sheets of construction paper with a small amount of glue.  Let the children add arms, legs, and a head to each. 

Leaf Printing:  Have children apply an even layer of tempura paint onto the back of a leaf where the veins show.  You can use paint brushes or rollers to apply the paint.  Place a sheet of paper on top of the painted side of hte leaf and gently rub with fingers.  Remove the paper and allow time for the paint to dry.

Give children a precut shape of a fall leaf.  Let them spread thinned glue onto the leaf and then add fall colored squares of tissue paper, overlapping slightly, for a pretty fall leaf.

Provide tissue paper in fall colors for the children to create a fall collage.

Trace both of the childs hands, fingers and up to their elbows on a piece of paper.  Make the arms sort of come together at the base to look like a tree trunk and make sure fingers are spread out to look like branches.  Then let the children dip fingers in different fall colored paints and put the fingerprints on the "branches" and on the ground to look like leaves.

Science

Put lots of nature items in a large tub along with magnifying glasses for the children to touch and explore.

Make a fall smells observation bottle by taking a small plastic bottle and filling with fall scented potpourri.  Make a few small holes in the bottle with a nail and hammer  (adults only!) so the children can smell the fall smells.

Circle Time

Help the children brainstorm a list of fall activities, holidays, foods, and so on.

Ask "What are reasons to celebrate Fall??"

Talk about fall weather and clothing you wear.

Talk about fruits and vegetables of fall and also the animals we see more of in the fall.

Finger play:

The leaves are whirling around and around (wave fingers)

The leaves are falling to the ground (wave fingers downward)

Round and round, round and round.  (Roll one hand over the other)

Falling softly to the ground (slowly wave hands downward)

Music and Movement

Play Pass the Pumpkin.  Pass a real or plastic pumpkin around the circle to the beat of a drum.  Vary the tempo slow, fast, slow fast.

Children can dance and pretend to be leaves blowing in the wind.  Play slow music and they can dance, sway, and fall gently to the floor.

Sing the following song to tune of London Bridge:  Autumn leaves are falling down, falling down, falling down, Autumn leaves are falling down gently to the ground.

Sensory

Provide a variety of gourds for the children to examine.  Cut a couple of them open for an inside look. 

Put cobs of corn in the discovery tub for the children to shuck.  Then let them play with small tractors, wagons etc in the shelled corn.

Put unshelled peanuts into the discovery tub and let the children shell the peanuts. 

Put fall leaves in the discovery table for the children to "crunch" explore etc. 

Math

Place one to six stick on dots in each section of a muffin tin.  Challenge the children to count the corresponding number of acorns into each section.

Provide a large assortment of leaves and let the children sort them into two or more categories......could be based on size, color, shape, etc.

Supply a large assortment of nuts for the children to sort and classify.

Games and Large Motor

Provide corncobs and a basket.  Challenge the children to toss the cobs into the basket.  Gradually increase the distance between the basket and the thrower.

Go on a fall hike around the neighborhood and look for signs of fall.

Jump in the leaves raked up outside.

Take a walk outside to collect leaves.

Science: Have the children plant an apple seed in small cups. Then read the story "The Tiny Seed" by Eric Carle

Find earthworms and put them in a jar to observe. Then return to ground.

Observe leaves from different kinds of apple trees.

Food Experiences:

Apple Jazz: Pour in 8 oz of applesauce and 6 oz can frozen oj mixed with 1.5 cans of water. Whirl until smooth in a blender then add another 8 oz applesauce and 6 oz of oj mixed with another 1.5 cans of water.

Apple-nut float: Combine half of the following ingredients in a blender, whirl until smooth and then repeat with remaining ingredients.

1 cup milk 1 cup nonfat frozen vanilla yogurt 1 cup low sugar applesauce

2 TB. of smooth peanut butter 2 ice cubes

Wormy Apples: 8 raw apples, 1 cup peanut butter, 1 cup favorite low sugar jam and gummy worms. Preheat oven to 350. Remove the apple cores being careful to leave bottoms still intact. Combine peanut butter and jelly in bowl. Stuff mixture into center of apples. Place apples in cupcake tins, set tin in pan half full of water, and bake at 350 for 30 min. or until apples are tender. Cool and place on individual plates inserting gummy worm halfway into hole with rest hanging over the side. Serve.

Have an apple tasting party and server different kinds of apples, applesauce, apple juice, and other apple items.

Make applesauce and eat it.

Sensory:

Red, yellow, and Green play doh to make "apples" with

Music and Movement:

Cut out a large circle from a piece of cardboard or tag board. Turn on music and let the children crawl around like they are worms........crawling through the hole if they want to.

Turn on music and have the children stand in a circle with their legs spread apart. One child is the worm and crawls around through everyone’s legs, when they stop then the next person goes around etc.

Art:

Shape and paint apples made out of the following magic clay recipe. Heat 2.5 cups of water over a low heat until bubbly. Remove from heat and add 1 cup cornstarch which as been dissolved in ½ cup cold water. Stir quickly. Mix with hands if necessary. If it is too dry, add a bit more water. This mixture is pliable like play dough.....when it allowed to dry at room temp for 36 hours it will become very hard and can be painted.

Make bloomin’ apple trees. Cut out a trunk shape for each child out of brown construcion paper and also a green leafy part of a tree. Attach the two together to form a tree. On one side, let the children use a red bingo marker to make "apples" when dry turn the tree over and glue crumpled pieces of pink and white tissue paper squares to represent blossoms. These look really great hanging from the ceiling in a room.

Literacy:

Read a story about "Johnny Appleseed"

Math: Make a small cut out of an apple tree for each child. On the trunk of each tree write a numeral 1-9. Give each child a tree and have them draw the number of apples that corresponds to the numeral written on the tree then have the children color the trees.

After an apple taste test, graph everyone’s favorites and see which one "wins" Can include parents in this as well to make more to graph!

Fingerplay: "Five Red Apples"

Five red apples hanging in a tree (hold up 5 fingers)

The juiciest apples you ever did see.

The wind came by and gave an angry frown (fingers flutter downward)

And one little apple came tumbling down (one finger falls)

Four red apples hanging from a tree, etc. (hold up 4 fingers and continue until no apples are left)

Games:

Provide wads of red construction paper to be the apples and a towel for each pair of children. One child throws the "apples" and the other catches them in the towel.

Make imaginary applesauce by making a large masking tape circle on the floor to be the "pot". Have children sit around the pot. Teacher walk around the ourtside of the circle while singing the first verse of the song and each time you sing "cut" tap a child on the shoulder. These children become the apples and go into the pot and take a seat. Continue till all children are in the pot. Here is the song sung to the tune of Mulberry Bush:

This is the way I cut the apples (repeat end 2 more times) this is the way I cut the apples making applesauce.

Now I’ll pour the water on (repeat) Making applesauce (pretend to pour water on children)

This is the way the apples cook,(repeat) making applesauce (pretend to stir the children)

Now I’ll stir the cinnamon in (pretend to sprinkle cinnamon on children)

Now it’s cooked and it can cool (repeat) I’ve made my applesauce (sing quietly)

Now I’ll eat the applesauce, applesauce, applesacue, Now I’ll eat the applesauce.....mmmmmm is it good!! (Pretend to gobble up all the children)

They will squeal with delight and love the fact that you are going to "eat" them!

Apple Relay Race: Divide into teams and give each team a tablespoon and a small apple. Line the children up behind a line. While balancing the apple on the spoon, each child takes a turn race-walking around a chair, placed at the other end of the room, and back again. When back, they pass the spoon to the next child and the first team to finish wins.

Make a large tree cut out and a smaller apple. Blindfold one child at a time and have them play pin the apple on the tree.

Circle Time:

Finger play:

Five little apples waiting to be sold (hold up five fingers on right hand)

Five little customers marching up so bold (march left hand fingers up to the right hand)

Each picked a favorite and each paid a cent (match left fingers to right fingers)

Each made a bow and away they all went. (Separate fingers just enough to bend fingers for a bow)

Fingerplay:

Way up high in an apple tree, (hold arms overhead)

Two little apples smiled at me (hold up two fingers to cheeks)

I shook that tree as hard as I could (pretend to shake tree)

Down came two apples, Mmmm, they were good!! (Rub stomach and smile)