F is for Fall

This week F is for Fall, share the joy and wonder of the changing seasons with your child. Your child can learn:

• Fall is the season after summer. Autumn is another word for fall.
• Daylight hours become shorter. Nighttime hours become longer.
• The weather becomes cooler. It may be time to put away shorts and sandals, and wear long pants, and sweaters.
• Frost may appear at night or early morning.
• Leaves begin to change colors.
• Leaves and nuts begin to fall to the ground.
• Grass turns brown and dies out.
• Some birds and butterflies fly south for the winter.
• Some animals get ready for winter, by gathering nuts or storing food in their homes.
• Some animals grow thicker coats to help them stay warm
• Farmers harvest many foods and sow winter crops

Make Your Own Lotto Game

Repeated in this lesson are directions for making a simple lotto game. Lotto is very similar to bingo, but uses pictures in place of numbers. Children learn to match pictures, making a one-to-one correspondence. It is a great game for the young child, the rules are simple. You can keep the child interested by making multiple lotto games. Use fall stickers to make an autumn lotto. Make a Christmas lotto with Santa, reindeer, holly, and wreath stickers. Make a baby animals lotto, or favorite Disney characters lotto. If you can find it pictured in stickers, you can make a game from it. For the older child, you could use alphabet letters or musical notes for the lotto. There is a lovely animal lotto game for sale in the store.

Go on a Nature Hike

The week activities will start with a nature walk. Stroll around your neighborhood or take a trip to a nearby park. Gather colored leaves, nuts, acorns, seeds, milkweed, or other signs of autumn. You’ll need the leaves, seeds, and twigs for some of the craft projects. Take a bag with you on the hike to carry home your child’s treasures. If you feed the ducks at the park, remember that white bread is NOT nutritious and can harm the ducks. You can buy whole corn or grain for them from a feed mill for probably less than a loaf of bread. Check with your local ordinances though. In some areas, it may be illegal to feed the ducks.

Pick Apples at an Orchard

The week ends then with a return trip to the apple orchard. If you did “A is for Apple” earlier, then your child visited the apple orchard this summer. Now you can point out that the apples have turned red (or yellow), although a few green ones might remain. Some apples have fallen to the ground already. Some leaves fall, too. Don’t forget to return to the apple orchard in the winter, to see the bare branches.

Have a great time with your child. And don’t forget to take lots of pictures for your memory album.

F is for Fall lesson plans

Suggested Picture Books for Fall

Why Do Leaves Change Color by Betsy Maestro
It’s Fall by Linda Glaser
How Do You Know It’s Fall by Allan Fowler
Fall is Here! I Love It! by Elaine W. Good
Apples and Pumpkins by Anne Rockwell
For the Love of Autumn by Patricia Polacco
Autumn by Gerda Muller
Autumn: An Alphabet Acrostic by Steven Schnur
T is for Touchdown: A Football Alphabet by Brad Herzog

Some interesting Toys and Games for Autumn

Autumn Landscape Roll
Preschool Lotto Game
Melissa & Doug Bear Family Dress-Up
Music for the Nursery
From Caterpillar to Butterfly
Where is Puppy Listening Lotto
Baby Genius the Four Seasons w/bonus Music CD
Sing-Along with Elmo and Friends: Autumn
The Very Hungry Caterpillar

If you are new to this site, you may want to read:
Working with the Lesson Plans
Play Areas for Encouraging Creativity
Calendar Activities

Don’t forget to subscribe using RSS or email! Have new updates delivered right to your inbox, and you’ll never miss one again!

Photo credits:
Top: photo by Sarah Neville
Middle: photo by Abigail Batchelder
Bottom: photo by Dawnzy58

Tags: activities for preschool, autumn lesson plans, early childhood, fall activites, kids activities, lessons, preschool activities, squirrels