Fall Leaves Project
Happy September 1st! Fall is in the air, hypothetically at least. Perhaps back in Washington. Jacksonville is still stifling, although the forecast predicts days in the low 90s and upper 80s rather than the 99 degree weather we’ve had most of the summer. That is something, right? I’m certainly in the mood for Fall, and this morning we began the month with a celebration of construction paper, yarn, glue, and cute Autumn poems.
While Alexandria studiously constructed a model of an animal cell out of construction paper, yarn, and cut-out organelles, the boys started their school day with paper leaves. First, they colored their leaves bright colors. Next, it was fine-motor-enhancing cutting time! I helped Derek, but Ethan did his all by himself. He struggles with fine motor skills and this was a bit frustrating, but he did it and was so proud of himself!
Next, the boys glued their leaves to a piece of construction paper so we could make a colorful border. I trimmed the edges for each of them and punched many holes along the edges. Lacing time! Derek loves to lace while Ethan finds it difficult. Practice makes perfect! There were a few moments of frustration and a small tantrum, but with lots of encouragement and re-directing he finished his leaf. Derek finished with lots of time to spare and asked to paint his creation. I obliged him. Daddy’s spot at the table is still a bit colorful, splotches of green and blue paint here and there.
After Ethan finished lacing his leaf (yeah!), we moved to the second part of the project (for Ethan only, Derek’s too little). I wrote a short poem on the chalkboard: “Leaves are falling on the ground, pretty colors all around.” Ethan’s a great little writer and enjoyed copying the poem on his own paper. We then glued both the poem and the leaf on a sheet of construction paper and, voilà! Happy little boy, great project, lots of fine-motor tuning, and a lesson about Fall too. We talked about leaves changing color, seasons, Fall activities, and even pumpkins while we did the project.
To tie the lesson together, we began Story Circle time with Autumn finger plays. So much fun! Here’s our favorites:
“Autumn
The green leaves are turning
To yellow, red, and brown.
And when the wind comes whistling by, (Children make a woo-oo-oo sound and swish arms)
They all come tumbling down! (Children tumble to floor, usually cracking up laughing)”
The boys had so much fun this morning, I don’t even think they realized how much they were learning. I love mornings like these!
Here’s a link for your own leaf templates: http://www.first-school.ws/theme/coloring-pages/patterns-templates.htm
Happy creating!
