Fall is here!
With the start of this unit I (once again) changed up my plan a little bit - I've decided to do each unit for 2 whole weeks. I'm thinking that if I have two weeks per unit, I'm a little prepared for each unit transition - and I can really get into each unit!
This unit was a ton of fun for us! We really started talking about the weather, why leaves turn different colors and then fall to the ground, and what animals are doing during the fall weeks. Ten frames now include play acorns for counting, and our sensory bin has leaves in it!
Autumn trees!
We made our own autumn trees with a whole new utensil - broccoli! Using a 12x12 piece of white cardstock paper, we make the trunk and branches. Then, I squirted a little red, yellow, orange and brown paint into a bowl (see above, how the paint touches each other? you want that.) They each got a piece of broccoli and dabbed it into the paint and then dabbed over each branch, making a really cool tree! I think they turned out very pretty, and my students had a ton of fun using a veggie to paint a picture!
Our fall themed sensory bin
Three units into my new structured routine and I'm finally getting the hang of the elusive sensory bin - just throw a bunch of different things into some sort of container, and give the students things to hold/scoop/pick them up with!
This week we used different sized and colored pretend leaves (Hobby Lobby) as well as play acorns. They each used play construction tools to pick the acorns out. Easy Peasy!
A fine motor skill challenge
This wooden tree required patience, strong pincer grasp, and a steady hand!
So much learning in one craft
This here was a GOOD project. Conall had to make his own scarecrow. There were shapes that he had to color, then cut out with scissors. then place on the paper, then glue down, and then at the bottom he needed to count each shape and write how many of each. Seriously an entire day's worth of learning in one fun project!
Fall scavenger hunt!
Our final day of our fall unit was spent outside! It was cold, drizzly, and windy; but we were determined to get our final "assignments" done. We did a group scavenger hunt around the neighborhood - which really challenged Conall to keep on task as we walked past every exciting thing - he had to remember to keep checking his sheet for what we were looking for and to check off the things we found. Nora also helped our hunt by taking pictures with her own camera. We also each collected a leaf to study and classify, as well as write about our favorite fall senses.
