September 19- 21, 2017: fall

It was a great week in the classroom! In preparation for the official beginning of fall on Friday, we spent the majority of our time this week talking about autumn. I didn't know when I began planning for this theme two weeks ago that it would be SO hot and muggy in St. Louis this week! We had to really use our imaginations to pretend that it was a cool fall day in our classroom! :)

We love to use themes to teach at Webster Hills. I thought it might be interesting for you to see what this looks like in the Triangle Room. Below are pictures and descriptions of our activities this week based around the theme of fall. To try to avoid too lengthy of a post, I divided our activities into a few categories- math, literacy, science, and art. As I hope you can see, our chosen theme is not just a cute topic for the week, but a starting point for us for planning meaningful learning activities across the curriculum.

Math:

• The students loved a rhyme I introduced using the flannel board and felt leaves. As the rhyme progressed, the students counted backwards as each leaf fell from the tree. We used our fingers to help with this tricky concept.
• Using blocks, we measured the leaves that the students brought in from home.  
• Students were given a leaf to hold and study. We counted the pointy edges of the leaves to help us determine-  along with color and size-  which of the five types of leaves the student was holding. One by one, the students were able to add their leaves to our bar graph. We then counted the results for each type and compared which leaves we had more of and which we had less of.
• After answering our question of the day- "Have you ever raked leaves?"- students helped me to count the results. 

the completed graph

results from our question of the day- Have you ever raked leaves?

creating our bar graph

measuring the leaves brought in from home

How many blocks can fit on the surface of your leaf?

One of many times we enjoyed our flannel board counting rhyme. I love the fingers at work in this shot.

Literacy:

• We read eight books together this week about fall. 
• We really enjoyed reading and acting out the movements from We Are Going On A Leaf Hunt.
• Students completed their second journal page of the year, journaling about the things they like to do in the fall.
• The book holder by the circle time area was full of books about fall. I saw many students choosing these books during free choice reading time.
• As a class, students helped give me ideas for a writing web' "things we know about the fall".
• Parents and students had the opportunity to write their ideas about fall together onto a large sheet of paper in the hallway.
• We provided opportunities each day for students to have free writing/drawing time. Our writing area was open daily with markers, construction paper leaves, leaf stickers, scissors, and glue. Many students said they were creating cards for their parents. 

It makes me happy to see the students comfortable in our class library.

These three chose to read for part of their free choice time one day. 

We loved We Are Going On A Leaf Hunt!

Singing a song together about crunching through the leaves. 

James enjoying a little writing during free choice time.

Camille and Blake spent a great deal of time enjoying the writing materials I placed on the table one morning. 

Our journal page this week asked the students to think about what they like to do in the fall. One teacher was at each of the three tables to record the students' thoughts on their drawings. 

Evan journaled about how much he likes to jump in leaves. 

Throughout the week, students had the opportunity to share ideas about fall. 

Science:

• We had many discussions about the changes we will observe as we change from summer to fall. We pretended to bundle up in warmer clothing to take a walk around the classroom. We used our imaginations to notice all of the colors of the leaves on the trees and to hear the sounds of the leaves crunching under our feet. After making a mess pretending to throw leaves all around the room, we came back "inside" to warm up with some apple cider and pumpkin muffins. 
• We talked a great deal about the colors we will be seeing on the trees as they begin to change.
• We talked about the leaves falling off of the trees- how the tree will rest over the winter and grow new green leaves in the spring. We used this information as we created some trees together. 
• We investigated leaves brought from home, most especially noting color and size. 
• We compared types of leaves and made a graph to show our results. 
• We played a leaf matching game that required much careful observation- Does the leaf you are holding match the leaf on the magnetic board? Why or why not?

We talked a great deal about the colors we will see on the trees in the fall.

Trying to find matching pairs or sets of leaves. This activity required concentration!

Students each brought in a leaf from home to study. 

making a BIG pile of leaves together

Art:

• We stamped leaves onto tree forms using red, yellow, brown, and orange paint. The students especially seemed to enjoy watching the colors mix.
• We painted directly onto leaves from our school courtyard. Some students chose to use these leaves as stamps once they had been covered with paint.
• We had a great time creating abstract leaves decorated by rolling marbles through paint over paper. 
• We created a class tree using tissue paper and a glue water mixture. This was a choice throughout the week. Not all students chose to participate because it was messy, but the students who enjoyed it seemed to really enjoy it!
• One of the table activities at arrival each day was a plate of paint in fall leaf colors, some paintbrushes, and blank leaf cutouts. It was fun to watch the enjoyment from this simple table choice. One day I placed sticks out as an option as well and some of the students enjoyed painting with sticks. 

We also had plenty of time in our week for play! The students are really enjoying play time together each morning.