It was a momentous occasion when Tot and I were finally able to change the “summer” magnet on our calendar to “autumn.” I love Fall! I enjoy the crisp, cool air, the trees awash with color, and the spicy additions to our food. God’s creative glory is manifest in every tree and bush. Because I love this season, I was also excited to gear our afternoon electives toward this time of year. For the next few weeks, I’ll be posting these lesson plans.

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Leaves

Books: Leaf Man and Nuts to You by Lois Ehlert.

I hadn’t heard of this author until I did a google search for fall books, but I’m so happy I found her. Her illustrations are innovative and beautiful. I even took Leaf Man to my homeschool co-op and read it to my first and second graders. They were engaged and excited by every page.

Song: “Autumn Leaves are Falling Down”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKjUPqbt8DU

Literacy:

“Autumn” by http://www.dltk-teach.com/minibooks/

This mini-book teaches the basic characteristics of the season: changing weather, leaf color change, and animal behavior.

“Fall Leaves” Sequencing Story by https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Sequencing-Stories-First-Next-Then-Last-Set-1-2086451

I bought this packet from Teachers Pay Teachers. It was well worth the $3.50. Tot needed some work with story sequence, and it provides multiple ways to work on this skill. Also it had stories for leaves, pumpkins, and apples all of which I wanted for fall lessons. I recommend it if you have the room in your homeschool budget.

Science:

Nature Walk: Our little burg has walking trails throughout the city. Tot and I went on a hike and collected a variety of leaves, nuts, and berries. Truth time…I did most of the collecting. Tot mainly ran down the path full speed. I did stop him to look at some items, though. One moment, all the motion stopped while he sat still in the middle of the trail, picking off the outer hull of a walnut. With little boys, you have to enjoy the still times when they happen because they are few and far between. We used our collection for two activities.

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Why do Leaves Change Color?: We used some of the leaves from our nature walk for an experiment by http://www.123homeschool4me.com/2015/09/why-do-leaves-change-color-science.html

I used both coffee filters and paper towels with better results from the paper towels. Also, mine did not turn out as pretty as hers. It might be that I didn’t wait late enough in the season to collect my leaves.  

Art:

Pumpkin Dot Painting from http://www.theresourcefulmama.com/fall-dot-painting-free-printables/

We don’t have dot markers. Tot used clothespins and poms poms to create the dots. I also used this opportunity to teach that red and yellow blend to make the color orange.

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Leaf Man

We used the leaves and other objects we collected on our walk to make our own Leaf Man like the one in Ehlert’s book.

Materials:

Large piece of paper, leaves of various shapes, nuts or berries, glue, wax paper, a heavy book

Process:

  1. Choose leaves to create a head, body, arms, and legs.
  2. Glue them to the paper.
  3. Place wax paper over glued leaves and cover with book.
  4. Leave for thirty minutes or until glue is dry.
  5. Remove wax paper and book.
  6. Glue nuts and berries to head leaf creating eyes, nose, and mouth.
  7. Let dry. 
  8. Give your Leaf Man a name. Tot chose “Conner” for his 🙂

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