Trees in the Fall

We spent a lot of October studying trees in the fall, which included exploring acorns, squirrels, sticks, trunks, branches, and the changing leaves.

Fall Colors on the Light Table

 

The Lines in Leaves

This was an invitation to look more closely at the lines in the leaves. Children could make leaf rubbings, make prints in clay, or rub the leaves under tinfoil to see the lines. 

Tree Slices

We used different sized tree slices for loose parts play, as well as these geoboards made out of larger slices for fine motor work and shape/line exploration.

Acorns and Squirrels

We played a lot of acorn "hide and seek," and gathered up a lot of nuts for the squirrel's winter stash in the sensory bin and with a grid counting game.

Fall Leaf Art

The colors of fall are perfect for beautiful art projects, and we tried a few different processes... We worked together to decorate this giant cardboard tree.

We painted with marbles to make these leaves.

And we painted with tinfoil to make our own fall trees.

Leaf Experiment

We talked about why leaves change colors in the fall, and how chlorophyl (the green pigment) covers up the true colors of the leaf. Then we did an experiment to extract the hidden colors of leaves. 

Dancing with Leaf Sticks

Using play leaves and leaf sticks is always a favorite for music time. (And it's always hard to get a good picture... :) )

There are so many ways to explore the wonder of fall! I always feel like I have more ideas than we have time for. Happy Fall!

Pumpkins in the Fall

We are going on a field trip to the pumpkin patch soon, and here are some of the ways we've been getting ready in the classroom.

Pumpkin Counting Games

Making Jack-O-Lanterns

Pumpkin Monoprints (Along with other spooky designs...)

Garden Pumpkin

Last year we grew 30 jack-be-little pumpkins in our garden. This year...there is one little plant holding on for dear life. We'll see how big it gets before the weather gets too cold, but in the meantime, it's given us the opportunity to explore pumpkin plants a little more closely. 

Careful Counting + Math Bags

Last year, I started a weekly routine called Math Bags, and loved the regular opportunity it gave us to apply math to every day objects. One of the most important math skills I try to encourage throughout the year is one-to-one correspondence, or careful counting: associating only one number name per object while counting. It seems like such a basic skill, but it is essential for both math and reading, and can be very tricky for young children. So that is the first skill we are practicing with our math bags right now.

Everyone gets a chance to share what they brought, and then counts it as they add it to the collection tray. This is a great chance for me to assess their ability to count objects and use one-to-one correspondence.

Next week we are going to start sorting through our collection, which is another mathematical skill that will give us practice with counting, comparing, and classifying.

As part of this routine, I also like to include a math story if I can. Bear Counts is one of my favorites to use at the beginning of the year.

 And of course, math bag time isn't the only time we practice careful counting or other math skills. Mathematical objectives are always integrated into our learning topics, and often we have games or activities set out that are focused solely on a certain skill.

One thing I love about the math bag routine is that it helps us to realize that math is everywhere! It's in objects that we find at home or outside or at school...I try to take any opportunity that I see to draw attention to the math in our everyday objects and experiences.

Our Families

Another way we talked about our similarities and differences in September was by comparing our families. This isn't the only time we will think about our families this year, because they are such a huge part of who we are and our everyday learning experiences.

This month we were mostly exploring the people in our family- who they are, how many people, and how that compares to other families.

Family Photos + Figurines

I displayed our family photos along with these people figurines as an invitation to create your family. This led to some great conversations about the different people and quantity. 

People in Playdough

I noticed that some kids were frustrated at times by the people figurines because they didn't always stand up easily. So the next day we tried them out in playdough. Since this was a table activity, all the kids were sitting together to try it, and it was fun to listen to all their conversations about their families. It's something that we all enjoy talking about!

This also led to some creative playdough prints as well.

Birthdays in Preschool

There is one day during the year that is extra special because it celebrates you! We spent some time thinking about birthdays last month, as part of exploring our similarities and differences. Birthdays can be a great learning topic because the children already have background knowledge for how their family celebrates birthdays, and there are a lot of ways to integrate math, literacy, sensory, and social learning into birthday celebrations!

Birthday Cake Playdough

I first knew the students would be interested in birthdays when multiple children made birthday cakes out of playdough and straws. I loved the child-led learning that took place with this activity: different kids pretending it was a birthday cake, using fine motor skills to cut the candles, and counting the candles.

Water Beads Sensory Bin
Water beads are so bright and colorful, they seemed like a great addition to some birthday play. I was excited to see how the children would interact with them, and their imaginations really took off.  There was a lot of scooping, and making ice cream, soup, snail eggs, and more! This sensory material is hard to resist.

Birthday Cake and Ice Cream Dramatic Play

I set out various materials to encourage some dramatic play, like gift bags, pretend cakes, birthday crowns, ice cream scoops + cones, pipe cleaners and colorful pom poms.

 

 Counting Birthday Candles

These birthday cakes are made out of cardboard with tiny holes big enough for a pipe cleaner candle to poke through. That makes this a fine motor challenge and math activity all in one!

Balloon Painting + Parachutes
We  also used balloons as a painting tool, which was fun and a little messy if they accidentally popped...

And the favorite balloon activity was bouncing balloons on the class parachute. :)

Months of the Year

We used the topic of birthdays to talk about the months of the year, and how they go in a cycle. Time and the calendar year is a pretty abstract concept for preschoolers, but we focused on how each child has a special month, there are special things that happen during the months, and the idea that the pattern of months repeats itself over and over again. One way we did that was to walk around the names of the month in a circle, singing a little song. (hard to get a clear picture...)

We also used our all about me posters and birthday stars to see when everyone's birthdays fall.

Birthday Stars
We are starting a new birthday tradition in our classroom in this year by painting birthday stars and hanging them in our room. On a child's birthday, or Star Day, we will take the star down and they can take it home as part of their special day.