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FALL THEME
CRAFTS:
Aluminum Foil Leaves
Pieces of aluminum foil,
leaves, glue, construction paper Set out pieces of aluminum foil and a
variety of fall leaves. Let each child select a leaf, place it under a
piece of foil, and gently press and rub the foil with his or her hand to
get a leaf print. Then have the children glue their leaf prints to the
construction paper.
Cornstarch Impressions
Cornstarch, baking soda,
water, saucepan, waxed paper, nature objects such as leaves, twigs and
flowers: In a saucepan, mix together 1 cup cornstarch, 2 cups baking soda,
and 1 1/4 cups water. Cook over medium heat until the mixture thickens.
Cool, then flatten mixture between sheets of waxed paper. Let the children
lay leaves, twigs, flowers or other nature objects on top of the cornstarch
mixture and press them down firmly. Then have them remove the objects to
see the detailed impressions they made.
Clay Leaf Prints
Use a rolling pin to flatten
clay or a drying type dough. Lay a leaf on the clay & roll over it.
Remove the leaf & let the clay dry. Paint the clay with fall colors
of tempera.
Corn Cob Farmers
Cut a 38 mm section of dried
cob for a body and a 25 mm section for a head. Turn the head on its side,
glue to the body and add a face using a marker pen. Split a 50 mm section
of corn stalk in two for legs and glue to the bottom of the body. Split
a 25 mm section of corn stalk in four, glue on two pieces as arms, then
bend the ends slightly to make hands. Experiment to see if you can add
corn silk hair and other corn husk details (e.g. hat, tie, necker). To
make husks pliable and easy to shape, try soaking them in warm water for
five minutes. When the figure is complete, add a screw eye and loop of
fishing line in the top of the head for hanging.
Corn Husk Farmers
1. Gather the husks, and
tie them tightly together at one end with the yarn or string.
2. To make the head, tie
the husks a little way down from the top knot.
3. Gather three of the husks
and tie them together halfway down arm. Cut away most of the excess corn
husk that is below the knots.
4. To make the body, tie
the remaining corn husks halfway between the head and their ends.
5. Make the legs by taking
three husks and tying them together a little way up from their ends.
6. Make the other leg the
same way.
7. Decorate with coloured
felt-tipped markers, construction paper, fabric or any other craft
supplies you may have.
Dry Leaves
Green construction paper,
dry fall leaves picked up from the ground, glue, brushes Preparation: Cut
a fairly large leaf shape from construction paper for each child. Have
the children brush glue on their leaf shapes. Then let them crinkle dry
leaves and scatter the pieces all over the glue. Can also Draw bare tree
figures on pieces of construction paper. Then let the children crumple
up the dry leaves and glue the pieces of their papers.
Finger Tree
Gather colored paper (red,
orange, brown, green, yellow) Trace the child's hand onto several sheets
of several colors. Cut out. Then cut out a brown tree trunk&branches
in proportion to the amount of leaves. Have the child glue the hand shapes
to the tree trunk to form the leaves of the tree. Option: Have the child
think of things to be thankful for and label the hand/leaves. Another Option:
Use as a class project. Use one hand cutout for each child to make a class
tree.
Leaf Mobile
Glue colorful and different
fabrics to both sides of several pieces of heavy paper. Cut leaves from
this. Tie a string on each leaf. Suspend the leaves from a small branch.
Hang where the leaves will catch the breeze and flutter.
Leaf Bracelets
Wrap a piece of masking
tape (sticky side out) around each child's wrist. Go on a nature walk and
have children collect one leaf from each of several trees, sticking it
on their leaf bracelet. When the class returns, sit in circle. Teacher
holds up each leaf shape in turn and lets children identify similar leaf
on their bracelets. Let children wear their bracelets home and check the
types of leaves in their yards.
Leaf Rubbing
To help children notice
the veins in leaves and the different shapes of leaves, let them place
a variety of leaves (underside up) under a piece of light colored construction
paper. Using the sides of crayons that have had the paper covering removed,
children make crayon rubbing of the leaves.
Leaf Toss
Take a sheet, or a parachute.
Gather real leaves, fabric leaves, or paper leaves. Place them in the middle
of the sheet. Gather around the sheet and have the children lift the sheet
slowly and then quickly to see how all the leaves "float".
Nature Collage Placemat
Twigs, leaves, small pine
cones, nuts... etc. glue onto tacky clear paper. Show children how to collect
items from the ground without damaging the environment.
Pumpkin
Seed Masks
The
masks will require dry pumpkin seeds, paper bags painted orange,
and glue. Ask your the kids to draw faces on the bags. They can glue down
pumpkin seeds for decorations or to highlight facial features. Let them
add small boxes for nose, ears and eyes. Cut holes for the eyes and nose.
Voila! The masks are ready to wear.
Water
Leaf Prints
(outside
activity) Provide paintbrushes and small buckets of water. The children
paint fall leaves with water, then press them on the cement. Observe the
pattern the print makes. Point out and discuss the vein in the leaf. This
can be done indoors by using tempera paint instead of the water. The children
paint the leaves and then press them on white construction paper.
GAMES & ACTIVITIES:
Corn Cob and Ring
Make a toy as a craft at
your harvest celebration and play this simple game. It’s based on a Native
game played by Algonquin Indians, Inuit, Ecuadorians and Colombians. Each
kid needs a dried corn cob (stripped of kernels), a 2 cm ring cut from
a toilet roll, a 40 cm length of string, and markers to decorate the ring.
A leader might do the first step while your kids are busy decorating. Knot
the string at one end, thread it onto a tapestry needle, and pull the needle
through the tip of the corn cob. Remove the needle and let your kids tie
the free end of the string around the ring. Younger kids will need help.
To play the game, hold the corn cob at the base, flick the wrist to toss
up the ring, and catch it on the tip of the cob. It’s great for eye-hand
coordination!
Corn Cob Darts
Native Canadian youngsters
made a simple toy kids will enjoy. Push two or three bird feathers picked
up on a ramble or at a craft store into one end of a 10 cm piece of dried
corn cob (kernels removed). Mark a target on the ground and a throwing
line some distance away. Who can hit the target?
Corn Husk Kicking
Take a handful of corn husks
and tie them with a piece of yarn. Make one for each group. Hang the corn
husk so it is level with most of your kids’ waists. Let the kids take turns
going up to the corn husks and kicking them in different ways. Raise the
corn husks to increase the level of challenge.
Leaf Collecting and Sorting
Take children outside to
collect as many leaves as they can find. Go back to class and have children
take turns putting the leaves into groups of small, medium and large leaves.
Pumpkin
Hunting
Hide
lots of paper pumpkins around the pond. Organize the kids in to groups,
and give each group leader a length of string and tape or paper clips for
attaching pumpkins to it. Each group chooses a special signal for calling
their leader (barking, clapping, chirping), because only the leader can
pick up the pumpkins. On a signal, the kids search for the pumpkins. When
they find one, they place a finger on it and signal their leader by their
special call, so the leader can pick up the pumpkin and attach it to the
string.
Squirrel
and Nut
One
child is chosen to be "it" is given a nut to hold. The other children form
a circle, sitting on the floor. They extend one hand & close their
eyes. "It" tiptoes around the inside of the circle & puts the nut into
one of the outstretched hands. The one who receives it jumps up & chases
after the other until he catches "it". He/she then becomes "it" & the
games proceeds as before. The children open their eyes as the chase begins.
SONGS:
Old MacDonald Had a Farm
Old MacDonald had a farm,
E-I-E-I-O,
And on this farm he had
some chicks, E-I-E-I-O,
With a chick, chick, here
and a chick, chick, there
Here a chick, there a chick,
everywhere a chick, chick, *
Old MacDonald had a farm,
E-I-E-I-O.
2nd verse: Ducks — quack,
quack
3rd verse: Turkeys — gobble,
gobble
4th verse: Pigs — oink,
oink
5th verse: Cows — moo, moo
6th verse: Mules — hee haw
7th verse: Dogs — bow woo
8th verse: Cats — mew mew
9th verse: Truck — rattle
rattle
* Repeat third and fourth
lines of each
verse previously sung.
Oats,
Beans and Barley
This
is an old English chanting song. Form a large circle and join hands.
One
kid stands in the middle as the Farmer. All chant:
Oats
and beans and barley grow
In
fields and rows,
In
fields and rows.
And
this is the way the Farmer sows:
He
stamps his foot (all stamp foot)
He
claps his hands (all clap hands)
And
turns around and views the land (all turn around)
Waiting
for a partner.
Waiting
for a partner (all fold arms and stand still)
At
this point, the Farmer chooses a partner and the two hold hands.
kids
repeat the chant until all have been chosen and stand with hands
linked
in a new circle.
Season
Song
(when
the saints go marching in)
Oh
when
the leaves, fall off the trees
Oh
when the leaves fall off the trees
We
know that it must be autumn
When
the leaves fall off the trees.
Oh
when the snow begins to fall
Oh
when the snow begins to fall
We
know that it must be winter
When
the snow begins to fall
Oh
when the birds, begin to nest
Oh
when the birds begin to nest
We
know that is must be springtime
When
the birds begin to nest
Oh
when the sun, shines so-o bright
Oh
when the sun shines so-o bright
We
know that if must be summer
When
the sun shines so-o bright
The
Farm Song
Baa,
baa, Black Sheep, have you any wool?
Yes
sir, yes sir, three bags full;
One
for your sweater, and one for your rug,
And
one for a blanket to keep you warm and snug.
(Repeat
first two lines)
Cluck,
cluck, Red Hen, have you any eggs?
Yes
sir, yes sir, as many as your legs.
One
for your breakfast, and one for your lunch,
Come
back tomorrow, I’ll have another bunch. (etc.)
Moo,
moo, Brown Cow, have you any milk for me?
Yes
sir, yes sir, as tasty as can be.
Churn
it into butter, make it into cheese,
Freeze
it into ice cream, or drink it as you please. (etc.)
Buzz,
buzz, Busy Bee, is your honey sweet?
Yes
sir, yes sir, sweet enough to eat.
Honey
on your muffin, honey on your cake,
Honey
by the spoonful, as much as I can make. (etc.)
The
Leaves are Falling Down
("the
farmer in the dell")
The
leaves are falling down
The
leaves are falling down
Red,
yellow, green and brown
The
leaves are falling down
STORIES:
Mickey
the Monkey
Organize
the kids into 6 groups.
Give
each group one of the following animal roles; whenever a group hears its
animal it must make the appropriate sound.
Mickey
the Monkey: Eek, eek, eek!
Cow:
Moo!
Horse:
Neigh!
Dog:
Bow wow!
Cat:
Meeoow!
Chickens:
Cluck, cluck, cluck!
Animals:
All make their own sounds together
Mickey
the Monkey was always getting into trouble. And no wonder. He was
always
up to some naughty monkey trick. Mickey the Monkey lived on a farm. All
the other animals were always cross with him because he did such naughty
things.
One
day Mickey the Monkey was in the big feeding shed where Mr. Giles, the
farmer,
was busy putting out food for the animals.
“Now,”
said Mr. Giles to his wife, Mrs. Giles, “Today I have to go out. I
won’t
be back in time to feed the animals. Will you feed them for me?
Everything’s
ready so you won’t have to do anything except give the right
food
to the right animal at five o’clock.”
“Of
course I’ll feed them,” replied Mrs. Giles. “I’ll just have to watch that
Mickey
the Monkey doesn’t get up to his usual tricks.”
Mickey
the Monkey heard this conversation, and thought that he would like to
help
feed the animals. After all, Mrs. Giles was very busy, and he was sure
she would be glad to have his help. So when it was nearly five o’clock,
Mickey the Monkey put back the hands of the big clock so that Mrs. Giles
thought that it was only four o’clock. Then Mickey the Monkey ran to the
big feeding shed to feed the animals.
He
gave a big bowl of bones to the cow. She didn’t like that at all.
He
gave a bowl of fish to the horse. He didn’t like that at all.
He
gave a bowl of corn to the dog. He didn’t like that at all.
He
gave a bunch of bananas to the chickens. They didn’t like that at all.
He
gave a bowl of cow cake to the cat. She didn’t like that at all.
At
six o’clock when Mrs. Giles came out to feed the animals (she thought it
was only five o’clock), she heard a dreadful noise in the farmyard. The
cow was mooing because she didn’t like the dog’s bones. The horse was neighing
because he didn’t like the cat’s food. The dog was barking because he didn’t
like the chickens’ food. The cat was mewing because she didn’t like the
cow’s food. And the chickens were clucking and squawking because they didn’t
like bananas at all.
When
Mrs. Giles saw the bananas, she knew what had happened. So she smiled to
herself and found the only food that was left. It was a big bundle of hay
that was really the horse’s dinner and she gave it to Mickey the Monkey.
Poor Mickey the Monkey didn’t like that at all. He began to cry.
“See
what you do when you muddle up the food,” said Mrs. Giles.
Poor
Mickey the Monkey didn’t get any supper that night, and never played
that
trick again. But he still plays other naughty tricks. He can’t really help
it,
because
all monkeys get up to monkey tricks, don’t they?
FOOD SUGGESTIONS:
Corn of the Cob
Baked Pumpkin
This was eaten by Ojibway
families who grew pumpkins and harvested maple syrup on their land.
Ingredients: small pumpkin1/3
cup melted sugar1/3 cup maple syrup1/3 cup apple cider1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
What to do: Place the washed
pumpkin on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for about 2 hours.
Take the pumpkin out of the oven and let it cool. (Leave the oven on.)
Cut a Jack-o-Lantern hole in the top of the pumpkin, and clean out the
inside of the pumpkin, putting the seeds aside and the pulp in a large
bowl. Mix the rest of the ingredients into the pulp and mix well. Pour
the pulp back into the pumpkin, replace the lid, and bake for another 30
minutes. When the pumpkin cools, it can be cut into pieces to be eaten.
Native people also pumpkin baked seeds on their own, after salting them.
TIPS/NOTES:
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