Autumn!

Here is a simple apple pie matching game to make for your ABC center: print off pie clip art and apple slices, cut & laminate, and write upper/lower case letters. You could easily change out the letters with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser..OR you could switch it and make it a math game! Students can record their letter or number matches on paper, white board, or even a magnadoodle! 

Mmmmm...the smells of Autumn!  We passed around spices, used our "sense of smell," and guessed what the spices could be!  Here are some of the spices we smelled: cinnamon, cloves, apple pie spice, pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, and dried orange spice (Target!). After smelling the spices, students can create spice art! Mix a little watered down white glue with spices. Use paint brushes and thick paper. Students will take home some sweet smelling paintings! 

We set up a practical life station during centers. Students were able to grate their own cinnamon! I found these large cinnamon sticks at an Amish bakery but McCormick sells smaller cinnamon sticks (near the spices in the baking aisle of the grocery store).

I don't think I will ever get this song out of my head!  The kids love it and it is quite catchy! "Herman the Worm" by The Learning Station.  We gave each student a worm (half of a pipe cleaner). This song includes counting, sequencing, and measurement!  Students stuff their "worm" in their hand and as Herman eats, students pull out a little bit more of their pipe cleaner..showing small, bigger, longer!! ..and then he burps! ..and he goes back to small again.. It's a fun song!! doowop doowop! 

Here is another activity we did this week... I first saw the idea on kindergartenkindergarten.com.  It's called "Find the Worm."  I printed off apples..laminated them...and then used a sharpie to write the numerals, number words, and counting dots.  (Write over the laminate..so then later you can wipe it off and use the apples for something else!) We used a small piece of green pipe cleaner for the worm..yarn would work too..(or how about one of those rubber fishing worms!? ..maybe next year!)  We played this activity every day this week as an intro. game for our math group time.  The apples were arranged in a different pattern each day...ABAB..ABC..ABBA.. and after the worm was found I had extra apples on hand so the students could take turns finishing the pattern... Another way to play: Hand out the apples to the students..then they take turns arranging the apples in order...then one student could hide the worm.  Patterning, number identification, counting, colors, and ordering...LOVE IT!

Other things we did with apples this week:

-Finished simple patterns with real apples and created our own patterns with real apples!

-Graphed apples and taste tested apple butter!

-Measured ourselves with real apples, compared heights, and took turns measuring things around the classroom (with apples!)

-Played "Pin the Apple on the Tree" ..used the apples from the pocket chart, masking tape, scarf for blindfold, and butcher paper tree.

-Played "Meet Me at the Top of the Apple Tree" game.. the class was split into two teams. We laid out our butcher paper tree on the carpet and I had drawn a grid up the trunk. Teams rolled a jumbo dice and raced their beanie babies up the tree! (We used a worm and a snake..a chipmunk or bird would work too! OR print off clip art and laminate!) 

-We went apple picking! Red pom poms were hidden all over the classroom. Students worked with partners to collect 5 apples in their baskets. (We used berry baskets that I scored at a garage sale!)  Students had to determine with their partners if they had five apples, more than five, or less than five.

-Apple Eruptions!!! ..Students took turns stirring a bowl  filled with a cup of baking soda and some spices (Students used their sense of smell and they chose their spices..cinnamon, apple pie spice, etc.)...  Then, we dropped food coloring (experimented with a couple of colors!) into vinegar. I cut out holes on the tops of apples..Students took turns filling the apples with the baking soda mixture and (carefully) pouring the vinegar over top. We watched and listened to all the millions of  tiny popping bubbles.. At one point, we decided to try three apples at one time, each apple with a different color.. and then we watched the colors mix. This activity allowed students to use their senses, predict, experiment, and witness cause and effect! It was a super cool experiment that I highly recommend!  

Click here for more fall fun from Pre-K Tweets!