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)