{Fall} and {Creatures of the Night}

We kicked off fall with themes about Trees and Leaves and Creatures of the Night.

Pre-K 1 started with a fun pocket chart rhyme. It says:

The leaves are falling down,

Red, yellow and brown.

The leaves are falling down,

All over ______ and all over town!

We had our name cards out to take turns reading our names in the rhyme and then we added some really silly name cards with ideas from the class. Santa Claus, Ms. Molly, Luke Skywalker and Happy all had their names added to cards!

Pre-K 2 cut out owls for a door bulletin board after reading Owl books. Owl Babies by Martin Waddell was very popular. You can watch the story being read on YouTube here.



Pre-K 2 also had adorable owl sheets numbered 1-5 that they cut out and sequenced.

This owl roll and cover game was very popular, too. The peas made progress with counting, taking turns and visually discriminating numbers.

Pre-K 1 did a cut and color tree sequencing art project.

At circle time we discussed what grew on trees. These are some smart kiddos! They guessed many fruits, leaves, apple blossoms, etc.

We studied leaves and examined them under magnifying glasses.

We make little books usually once a week to use for guided reading, learning predictive text and sight words. They are very short but the kids love making them.

More pics of the roll and cover game. I love how serious these guys look!

Pre-K 2 worked on visually discriminating between different types of leaves.

They also played a beginning sounds game on the white board.

Ms. Rhonda did the coolest project of the week! She talked about day and night and brought this really cool prop to demonstrate how the sun provides daylight.

Then she made a night box! As you can imagine, the kids LOVED it. Pre-K 2 played with it and then let Pre-K 1 have a turn. Here she is making it with a little help!

How clever is this? She punched holes for a string of Christmas lights that fit into the holes. They illuminated the inside of the box with this lovely glow.

Acting silly in the night box.

And you know that old lady who swallows EVERYTHING?!

She's done it again.

And since we are working on sequencing right now, we used the story to sequence everything she swallowed. Don't you love that concentrating tongue bite? Love it!



Lastly, Ms. Rhonda had a really neat art and literature connection activity. We read this story:

It is the perfect mix of spooky tale and practical explanations! When a brother and sister are sent on a late-night errand by their mother one evening, they realize that they'll have to pass by the Ghost-Eye Tree to reach their destination. They may think they're tough, but what will happen when they have to face the tree in the dark of night? After reading the story, we made our own Ghost Eye Trees!


Pre-K 2 also made these festive fall leaves. They are sun catchers, and the picture doesn't do them justice. They are so pretty hung in the windows of their room.

Pre-K 2 made this adorable sad scarecrow and crows, too! The scarecrow was done during a cooperative project where groups worked seperately on the head, arms, legs, body, etc. I really love him. Those crows are pretty adorable, too.

Pre-K 1 rounded off the week with these scarecrows. Their favorite part was stuffing the bags!
Happy Fall, ya'll!