Love, Love, LOVE Fall!

This has been a strange fall so far with unusually warm temps. We should have tons of leaves on the ground, and plenty of colorful ones still in the trees.  Convincing students the season has arrived can be a little challenging.

*It doesn’t feel like fall. Still hot outside.

*It doesn’t look like fall. Leaves are barely changing.

*It doesn’t taste like fall. Too warm out for hot chocolate.

How do you bring fall into the classroom?

A month ago, we planned what we would be learning about together. We talked about native animals and plants and decided which favorites  we would investigate. We made a list of animals…deer, raccoons, squirrels, groundhogs, rabbits, and bears! We also talked about deciduous trees and the reason they change color.

Transformation Time!

I love being part of Oriental Trading’s blogger program. There are so many affordable choices for every season, so it was easy to find items for our fall study.

Sensory Center Fun!

Sensory centers are a big part of our center activities, so the cute forest animal sets are perfect for sorting and counting.

These are in our sensory tub with colorful rice. Students locate and sort wild forest animals from domesticated animals. So much learning fun!

You can find a quick setup center packet here.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Autumn-Forest-Animals-Sensory-and-Literacy-Centers-3395725

 

What would Fall be without pumpkins?

Along with other pumpkin activities, this fine motor practice of weaving strips to make pumpkin mats was perfect for decorating our hallway. What a great challenge for those brains too!

Fall Math Patterns…

My students love using the self inking forest animal stamps from Oriental Trading. These are in our math center with paper for original patterns created by students. Deer-deer-squirrel, deer-deer-squirrel…, and more!

Bears, bears, EVERYWHERE!

Finally, the super fun project that made for an amazing day of learning! I ordered a roll of brown table runner and 2 dozen “dog” noses (which look like bear noses).

The bear costumes were so easy! I cut rectangles of runner, then cut a small hole for the face. The ears were formed by pinching the corners of the folded runner and stapling them. The result was a cute brown hood that looked “berry bearish” when tried on by students with their bear nose. I am so happy with how they turned out, and with how easy it was to make them.

The Setup

Friday morning, I began setup by strewing cute silk leaves all over the carpet. This definitely gave our room an air of Fall!

Next

Students were given our cute pumpkin fine motor/brain challenge crafts to work on as the bear hoods were readied. This went well, but some of our friends needed additional help in how to alternate the strips.

Finally!

Our costumes were ready! We acted out the stages of bears getting ready for hibernation! Foraging, pulling in the leaves to prepare our dens, and sleeping as we hibernate the winter away. We woke up once or twice to forage during our pretend winter, because that is what our native bears do. Then we woke up and celebrated Spring! We also highlighted the importance of not leaving food or garbage outside near your house. Bears are meant to stay wild, and not dependent on people for food. It is safer for families,  and the bears!

 

For all of the products used in this post (Oriental Trading supplied the materials for an honest review and some new ideas!) go to the following link: Oriental Trading