All these Activities and songs were collected and put together form different sources on Pinterest.  I use this as my planning for the week we celebrate Fall in my Day Care.

SONGS FINGER PLAYS

OH,FALL IS HERE!

(sung to the tune of “Oh, Christmas Tree”)

Oh, fall is here. Oh, fall is here,

And wintertime is coming.

The squirrels get ready. Yes, they do.

They gather nuts to get them through.

The wintertime, cold wintertime,

It’s fall and winter’s coming.

Repeat the song, each time replacing the third and

fourth lines above with a different verse below.

The ducks get ready. Yes, they do.

They migrate south to get them through.

The bears get ready. Yes, they do.

They look for dens to get them through.

The moose get ready. Yes, they do.

They grow thick coats to get them through.

5 LITTLE LEAVES

Five little leaves so bright and gay,

Were dancing about on a tree one day.

The wind came blowing through the town,

And one little leaf came tumbling down.

Four little leaves so bright and gay,

Were dancing about on a tree one day.

The wind came blowing through the town,

And one little leaf came tumbling down.

Three little leaves so bright and gay,

Were dancing about on a tree one day.

The wind came blowing through the town,

And one little leaf came tumbling down.

Two little leaves so bright and gay,

Were dancing about on a tree one day.

The wind came blowing through the town,

And one little leaf came tumbling down.

One little leaf so bright and gay,

Was dancing about on a tree one day.

The wind came blowing through the town,

And that little leaf came tumbling down.

TREE SONG

Tune: When Saints Come Marching In

Oh when the leaves fall off the trees

oh when the leaves fall off the trees

you know that it must be autumn

when the leaves fall of the trees!!

FALL SONGS

Five Little Leaves

Five little leaves in the autumn breeze,

tumbled and fluttered down from the trees.

The first leaf said, I am red

I shall rest in a flower bed.

The second leaf said, I am yellow

I’m a happy-go-lucky fellow.

The third leaf said, I’m violet

pick me up, I’m cold and wet.

The fourth leaf said I am green

when it rains I’m washed all clean.

The fifth leaf said, I am brown

I shall blow all over town.

RAKING LEAVES

I rake and rake the leaves into a great big heap (pretend to rake)

Then into the leaves I take a great big leap (jump and squat)

I cover myself with the leaves and hide from you

Then I jump up and say, “PEEK – A – BOO!” (jump up)

LEAFS ARE FALLING AROUND THE TOWN

(Twinkle, twinkle little star)

Leaves are falling ’round the town

Watch them fall right on the ground.

Autumn’s coming, it is true.

Then comes winter just for you.

Leaves are falling ’round the town

Falling, falling all around.

THE LEAVES ARE FALLING DOWN

(Farmer in the Dell)

the leaves are falling down, the leaves are falling down

School is here and fall is near, the leaves are falling down.

2nd verse – some are red and some are brown

3rd verse –  they tickle your nose and touch your toes

FALL IS HERE

Fall is here now, fall is here now,

H ow do you think I know…

The leaves are falling off the trees

That’s how I really know

(repeat with other signs of fall)

CIRCLE TIME

DAY ONE

About Fall – About Autumn 

Autumn is the season that comes between summer and winter. Canadians usually call this season fall because it is a time of falling leaves. The first day of autumn (fall) is celebrated on the fall equinox – a time when both night and day are equal. In the northern half of the world, autumn begins about September 22. In 2008, the Autumn equinox falls on September 22. In the southern half of the world, autumn begins and ends at the time spring begins and ends in the north.

After Autumn, nights begin to lengthen each day until the Winter Solstice in December.

In 2011, fall begins on September 23rd for countries in the Northern Hemisphere (United States, Canada).

I cut out a nice size tree from brown (the trunk) and green (the top) flannel to make a tree.  I then cut out 5 nice size leaves, in fall colors,  to go along with the following poem:

5 little leaves in the tree next door,

1 fell off and then there were 4,

4 little leaves all over the tree,

a bird pulled off 1, and now there are 3,

3 little leaves up where the wind blew,

1 fell off and then there were 2,

2 little leaves sitting in the sun,

a bug ate a leaf and now there is 1,

1 little leaf in the tree alone,

the wind blew and blew and now there are none!

DAY TWO

Trees Throughout the Year

Show pictures of a tree in the spring, summer, fall and winter. Ask the children what season it is based on the picture. Talk about the leaves on the tree for each season.

Leaf Match

Set out two of each kind of leaf and have the children find the matches.

DAY THREE

“Fall Feely Box”

Learning different textures and identifying them is fun for young preschool and kindergarten children.  Materials: Leaves, acorns, pine cones, nuts, apples, and other things you have discussed. You’ll need a box the children can fit their hands into without seeing inside. I use a large shoe box. With a hole cut in the top.

Description: Teachers, without the children seeing you, add the objects in the box.  During circle time have the children take turns feeling inside the box.  Ask each child to describe what he or she feels and what they think it is.

10 Red Apples

Hanging on a tree

Farmer Brown picked an apple

And gave it all to me

Leaving 9 red apples hanging on the tree.

9 red apples hanging on the tree

Farmer Brown picked an apple

And gave it all to me

Leaving 8 red apples hanging on the tree.

8 red apples hanging on the tree

Farmer Brown picked an apple

And gave it all to me

Leaving 7 red apples hanging on the tree.

7 red apples hanging on the tree

Farmer Brown picked an apple

And gave it all to me

Leaving 6 red apples hanging on the tree.

6 red apples hanging on the tree

Farmer Brown picked an apple

And gave it all to me

Leaving 5 red apples hanging on the tree.

5 red apples hanging on the tree

Farmer Brown picked an apple

And gave it all to me

Leaving 4 red apples hanging on the tree.

4 red apples hanging on the tree

Farmer Brown picked an apple

And gave it all to me

Leaving 3 red apples hanging on the tree.

3 red apples hanging on the tree

Farmer Brown picked an apple

And gave it all to me

Leaving 2 red apples hanging on the tree.

2 red apples hanging on the tree

Farmer Brown picked an apple

And gave it all to me

Leaving 1 red apple hanging on the tree.

1 red apples hanging on the tree

Farmer Brown picked an apple

And gave it all to me

Leaving no red apples hanging on the tree.

DAY FOUR

Life cycle of a Pumpkin – use a print out from below and discuss the life cycle.  You may also bring in actual seeds and pumpkins.

Weighing Acorns and Pinecones

A scale, acorns, and pinecones should be brought to the circle and children can weigh them to see the difference in weight.

DAY FIVE

LEAVES, LEAVES FALLING DOWN (PATTERN BELOW)

(Row, row, row your boat)

Leaves, leaves falling down,

Falling on the ground.

Red, Yellow, Orange and Brown,

Triangle, oval and round.

Leaf Math

Use the pattern below and print out two copies.  Cut them out.  Children can match the identical leaves.

SENSORY

The sensory table with deer corn, some cups for pouring, and the scale for measuring are a favorite activity.

SCIENCE

Place an ear of Indian corn on a shallow dish of water. Fill dish so that it just covers bottom third of corn – corn should not be submerged. place in sun or under a lamp and watch it grow

Variety of gourds in our science center garner a lot of attention, discussion, and close observation

CRAFTS

AUTUMN WREATH

One of my favorite leaf art activities is to make autumn wreaths. Have different shapes and colors of leaves cut out of paper – acorns also. A stiff paper circle with the middle cut out (paper plates with middle cut out would work good too.)  The children can glue the leaves onto their circles front and back.  Put a hole punch through put a string through and hang – they look beautiful!

GLITTER LEAVES

I have collected small size leaves and pressed them in magazines for several days.  On Monday the children will paint the leaves with glue and then press them onto black paper to make a “glue” leaf print.  Then they will sprinkle glitter over their leaf print.  These are very striking against the black background!  Sometimes children also want to use the leaf they made the original print from.  Since glue is left on their leaf after the print, they can easily shake glitter onto these as well.  I then staple the stem onto a piece of paper to dry and take home.

CRAYON RUBBING

After reading one of any number of fall books I like to do leaf rubbings.

Materials: Fresh fall leaves, various shapes thin paper  fall colored crayons, use flat side

Place leaves on table with the vein side up.  Cover with the paper.  Holding paper still use flat side of crayon to lightly rub over the leaf — the shape “magically” appears!  Use a different leaf or just change position of paper and crayon color for another image.  Overlap the leaf shapes if you like — it looks nice!  One children get the hang of it they can all be successful

PAINTED LEAF PRINTS

Materials: fresh fall leaves various fall colors of tempra paint construction paper

Have children paint their choice of color on the leaf.  After the leaf is painted to the child’s satisfaction move the leaf to a clean spot, painted side up.  Have child put the construction paper on top of the painted leaf.  Have the child rub their hands all over the paper, this transfers the paint to the paper.  Let child paint and transfer the print as many times as they want on the paper.

GARDEN STONE

What You Need:

• 1 cup of sand
• 1/2 cup of cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon powdered alum
• 3/4 cup of hot water
• Food coloring of child’s choice
• Assortment of items child would like to decorate with.
• Plastic pastel butterflies
• Colored stones

What You Do:

(This recipe only makes one stone) Might want to adjust to the size of your class.

Ask the children what is their mother’s favorite color and then go from there in making the dough.

1. Mix sand, cornstarch, and alum in bowl.
2. Add hot water, stirring vigorously until well blended.
3. Add food coloring and blend.
4. Cook over medium heat until thick, stirring constantly.
5. When cooled, Encourage children to flatten the dough out and make it the shape they prefer. Encourage them to decorate their stone. We had the letters M and O cookie cutters on the table and some of the children put the word “mom” on their stone by pushing the cutters in the dough.
6. Dry pieces in the sunshine for several days.
7. Lay out tissue paper, tape and ribbon, encourage children to wrap their gift for their mom’s and if they would like make a card to go with their gift.

BOOKS

http://www.the-best-childrens-books.org/fall-books.html

GROSS MOTOR

Trace & cut out red, green, brown and gold leaves from construction paper. Pass them out along with fall colored streamers 2 per child Have them decorate the leaves with stickers and or fall colored glitter.  As you say the following rhyme, have the children line up along the wall and listen for the color of streamer/leaf they have.  When each hears his color have them wave their streamers with the leaf attached to the end and pretend to be a leaf floating on the wind.

Leaves’ could be playing. Verse:

Leaf of red, leaf of green,

Prettiest leaf I’ve ever seen.

Leaf of brown, leaf of gold,

Sometimes flat, sometimes rolled.

Falling from the trees so high,

Blowing in the autumn sky.

Soon the snow will begin to blow,

Then in Spring new leaves will grow.

COOKING

LEAF PILES  – snack –

The recipe is 6 cups cornflakes, 1 cup MAPLE syrup, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup peanut butter.  In a microwave melt the maple syrup, sugar, and peanut butter together.  Pour over the cornflakes and place them in piles.  Let them cool and dry a little.  Then enjoy your leaf piles on your leaf day.

Thanks

Sonja