October Ideas

See October's Theme and Lesson Plan here  

Weeks 1 & 2:

apples and trees, changing of the seasons

ACTIVITY DAY

apple picking at orchard

walk in the leaves

CIRCLE TIME

Songs

 

(to the tune of London Bridge is Falling Down)
See The Apples Falling Down

Falling down, Falling Down

See The Apples Falling Down

Down To The Ground

Pick The Apples And Throw Them Up

Throw Them Up, Throw Them Up

Pick The Apples And Throw Them Up

Up To The Sky

Books

The Apple Pie that Papa Baked

Apples to Oregon

The Four Seasons

Books about apples, seasons

 

Jesus or Bible Time

Theme: Jesus made the seasons change and apple trees

 

Prayer:

Oh. . .the Lords been good to me
And so I thank the Lord
For giving me the things I need
The sun and the rain and the apple seed
The Lords been good to me, Amen.

 

Numbers or Letters

Practice Counting 1-10 with fingers

Practice showing 1, then 2 fingers

Count with leaves and apples (one then two)

Number songs:

 

Five fingers in my pocket (we know this from Music with Mar)

 

The ants go marching 1 by 1, 2 by 2, etc. This is great for a walk and even though I've only seen the lyrics published up to number 4, the link above has all they way to 10! We have fun making up our own lyrics and the kids really get into marching and squatting down to the ground. It's our favorite!

ABC song: F is for Fall, hold up letter F click here

CENTER TIME

sensory center: fill bin or box with leaves, pinecones, and other fall things

coloring

puzzles (Melissa & Doug wooden puzzles are great!)

varied selection of toys

COOKING WITH KIDS

applesauce in the crock pot or oven

apple pizzas with brown sugar and butter (on buns or pita bread)

apple sandwich (2 apples with peanut butter)

ART TIME

pinecone painting: use pinecones to paint with. Cut out big leaves from fall colors and let kid dip pinecones in paint to decorate fall leaves

paint with apples: cut apples at different angles and let children brush on paint and use the apples as stamps. Talk about the different shapes made by each apple and the space where the seeds were.

Print this tree coloring page: have children color the image first. Children can decorate the tree with "apples" by fingertip painting using poster paint or washable ink pad, red round stickers or red paper cut-outs using a coin as a template. Have children add five or ten apples. Have them count them to practice numerals and number order

apples: kids tear red paper up and glue on paper plates-add a stem and leaf to the top

OUTSIDE FUN

 

"bob for apples": hunt for apple cut outs in bucket of straw

leaf hunt: have children find leaves of different colors or shapes and sizes...collect them all and even glue them onto large paper for display or save them for the sensory boxes

WEEK 3 & 4

ACTIVITY DAYS:

 

Pumpkin patch

Fall fun night with community or church

CIRCLE TIME

 

songs

to the tune of "Do your ears hang low?"

Do you love Halloween?

When you dress up to be seen,

You can be a furry cat

Or a silly flying bat.

You can walk down the street,

Knock on doors, say "trick or treat"

Do you love Halloween?

books

We Gather Together

Good night moon

Books about pumpkins, harvest, halloween

 

Jesus or Bible Time

Theme: God made the sun and moon

 

Poem/Prayer:

I see the moon,

And the moon sees me;

God bless the moon,

and God bless me.

Anonymous

 

Shape/Letters/colors
shape-circle like a pumpkin and the moon
ABC song-P is for pumpkin-hold up letter P click here
color-orange like a pumpkin-find orange things in the room

CENTER TIME

sensory center-fill bin with leaves, pine cones, and other fall things coloring

Orange play dough

blocks

selection of toys

ART TIME

 

pumpkins-kids tear orange paper up and glue on paper plates, add a stem and leave at top

 

moons with craters: paint a yellow moon and glue cheerios for craters

pumpkin mobile: on a hanger or string on to yarn/fishing line for cute homemade decorations

 

create projects to decorate outside of house

- ghosts to hang from tree

- paint pumpkins to set outside

COOKING WITH KIDS

pumpkin seeds
pumpkin pie
pumpkin muffins

OUTSIDE FUN

 

pumpkin hunt: put paper pumpkins in the garden

ORANGE DAY

everyone wears orange

 

circle time is all about orange!!! Scavenger hunt around the house for orange things and bring circle time

art time: cut out a big carrot for kids to paint on. Cut the end of a large carrot off and let kids dip in orange paint stamp their carrot

cooking with kids: pumpkin pancakes. Make orange colored pancakes and let the kids decorate a face with fruit cocktail

Make orange hand soap: save an empty foaming soap dispenser, add clear liquid soap (dish soap works fine) and 1-2 drops food coloring) shake well! We make new colors of soap every few weeks and the kids LOVE it!

*many of these activities come form the Mailbox magazines, everythingpreschool.com and first-school.com (linked at right)