1. Take a walk and look up at the trees.  See any changes?

2. Discuss changes in clothing if you live in an area that is beginning to get chilly.  If you
    live in an area that stays warm, talk about what children are wearing in other areas.

3. Watch the sky for birds.  Notice anything different?  What are the birds doing?

4. Take a walk around the block and look for changes in your neighborhood that signify a
    change in the seasons.

5. Look for squirrels and take notice of how they are running up and down trees and
    gathering food for the coming winter.

6. Draw a picture using sidewalk chalk of yourself dressed for the coming cold weather.

7. Choose a tree and look everyday to see how many leaves remain on the branches.
    Try to guess how many leaves have fallen off that day.  Make a graph of your
    estimates and see if the lines are getting higher or lower as the month progresses.

8. Go to your local grocery store and look in the produce department and see what 
    new  fruits and vegetables are starting to appear.  Are you seeing less of other fruits 
    and vegetables?  Look at the clothing and the different colors in the store.  Talk about 
    these changes and how they relate to the current season.

Poem Activities

1.  Read the poem aloud with your child.  As you say each word point to it, so your child will learn that each word has a sound and a look.  Talk about any  individual word that your child may not be sure of the meaning.  For example, ask “What do you think sprawling means?” After discussing the word, have your child draw a picture of  sprawling leaves to help reinforce the meaning of the word.  It doesn’t need to be elaborate, just a small, quick drawing to help them remember.  Repeat with other words such as shawling to show that the poem is using both words sprawling and shawling to depict one image of the leaves lying all over the ground. Brainstorm with your child about other things that can fit the definition of sprawling. Talk about how autumn precedes winter in the last line of the poem.
 

2.  Make a copy of this poem and give to your child with a pencil.  Ask your child to circle the word that begins with has in the first line.  Repeat with other words throughout the poem.

3.  Make a copy of this poem and have your child circle individual letters in the poem.  For example, ask your child to circle all the “Ws” in the first line of the poem.  Ask “Can you find the longest word in the third line.”  Help your child count down the lines if they do not understand ordinal numbers.  What is the shortest line in the poem?

4.  Talk about what the poem means.  Draw a picture to illustrate the poem.

5.  Talk about the author.  Who is the author?  What is an author?  If you wrote this poem, what words would you add?  What words would you change?  When you close your eyes and listen to the poem, does the author make you think of autumn and falling leaves?  What kind of wind do you think the author was writing about (breeze, gale, etc.)  Why do you think the author wrote about the “chosen” wind.

Click here to print the October calendar.

Click here to print the October calendar markers.

1. Discuss the important dates for October including any special days pertaining to your family such as birthdays or anniversaries.  Talk about the different holidays and the changes that usually occur in the weather and the environment. Don’t forget to talk about any special traditions your family may have for a holiday or special day.

2.  Have your child trace the word October with their finger and say each
letter out loud.

3.  Together, count how many days are in the month, while pointing to each
number.

4.  Discuss what the letters at the top of the calendar mean (S M T W T F S).

5. Cut out the icons representing October and any others that relate to
your family’s special days.

6. Talk about what each icon represents and paste it onto the appropriate day.

7. Draw a picture within the border of the calendar that represents an aspect
of  October.

8. Again, count the days of the month and say the special day.

9. Hang the calendar at your child’s eye level and try to refer back to it
during the month, especially around the special occasions.

These are just a few books on the subject of fall that you may want to explore with your child.  Please feel free to e-mail me the title and author of any books that you enjoy reading with your child.
 

Apples and Pumpkins by Anne Rockwell
Easy reader with bold bright pictures.  Great book for reading about the autumn season with your small child or for your preschooler to read along with you.  This book has just a few words per page concerning picking apples and the perfect pumpkin to carve.

When Will the Snow Trees Grow?  By Ben Shector
The main theme of this book is to slow down to see and experience the joys of fall before wishing for the winter snow.  The characters are a young boy and a bear who teaches the child patience.  Great book for beginning readers and wonderfully illustrated.

Lionel in the Fall by Stephen Krensky
This is a chapter book containing four short chapters.  This is great for a first a first grader needing a challenge or for a second grader.  The book chapters are First Day of School, New Teacher, Raking Leaves, and Trick or Treat.

Why Do Leaves Change Color?  By Betsy Maestro
This is a non-fiction book with easy to understand details on how and why leaves change color.  The book details what a tree experienc4es during the change of seasons.  This would be a good book to read with your child to ensure their understanding of this aspect of nature.

Autumn Leaves by Ken Robbins
A non-fiction picture book on identifying the different types of leaves.  The book has great, realistic pictures and would be wonderful to take to the park and see how many leaves you and your child can identify.

What Happens in the Autumn by Suzanne Venino for National Geographic
This is a non-fiction book that touches on several events of the fall season, such as apple picking, birds flying south, animals collecting food, and the changing leaves.  The book contains photographs depicting each event.  This is a great book to read with your child.  This could be a read alone book for a second grader.

Wild Child by Lynn Ploude
This is a wonderful autumn book.  The illustrations are very well done with all the brilliant colors of autumn.  This is an easy to read story with rhyming adjectives on every page.  The theme of the book is Mother Nature struggling to get her child Autumn to bed.  Preschoolers will really enjoy this book.

Possum’s Harvest Moon by Anne Hunter
This is a nice book to read with your child or have your first grader read with you.  In this book, Possum wants to have a party, but everyone is too busy getting ready for winter.  The book has large pictures and just a few words per page.

One More October Poem (click for printer friendly copy of poem)

October

The month is amber,
  Gold, and brown.
Blue ghosts of smoke,
  Float through the town,

Great V’s of geese
  Honk overhead,
And maples turn
  A fiery red.

Frost bites the lawn.
  The stars are slits
In a black cat’s eye
  Before she spits.

At last, small witches,
  Goblins, hags,
And pirates armed
  With paper bags,

Their costumes hinged,
  On safety pins,
Go haunt a night
  Of pumpkin grins
 

John Updike