Autumn is another lovely season that inspires much creativity and opportunities for art, writing and reading and nature study. Here I give only a few ideas but maybe they will spark your imagination!
ART Leaf prints were another of our 'annual' rites of autumn. The boys loved it so much we did it until they quite old. Something about going out to find those lovely autumnal smelling leaves, picking the best specimens from as many different kinds of trees as we could, bringing them home, spreading the table with newspaper and getting out the paint. The technique is simple. Start by mixing some ready mix paint - red, brown, yellow, orange, in different shades - or if your children are older they can enjoy mixing their own shades. Get some nice thick brushes. Have some paper ready. A3 size is great, and some small pieces of newspaper. Then paint the back of the leaf (the rough side). As you do this, look at the leaves with your children: name the stalk, the veins. Talk about their purpose to carry goodness and nutrients through the plant, like our veins carry blood around our body. Feel the smooth side and turn it over and feel the veins sticking out. It's this side you will apply paint to. Having painted the leaf, place the painted side onto your paper and place a piece of newspaper on top. Press down on the newspaper firmly all over the leaf. Take off the newspaper and then gently and carefully lift of the leaf being careful not to drag it and smudge it. repeat this using different leaves and different colours. display your work. Collage work - making pictures of trees from different materials is fun too if you can. Collect old bits of paper, fabric, packaging and have some strong PVA glue to use. It's best to stick onto card as it is stiffer. ENGLISH Having been out to pick your leaves and waded through piles of crispy, fresh smelling leaves, you have the perfect setting to do some descriptive writing. Write the word 'Autumn' in the middle of a piece of paper or white board. Then together brainstorm words associated with autumn. Words like: chilly, crunchy leaves, red, brown, orange, piles of leaves, leaves falling off trees, damp, spiders - I sure your children can think of many better than these! I like to read the children autumn poems and find some words and phrases from the poems to add to our list. This helps extend their vocabulary and gives them a model to aspire to. I used to love reading my classes this one and we would learn to recite it from memory: Note the metaphor, 'the sunshine spread a carpet'. Can they think of metaphors, similes of their own? October gave a party; The leaves by hundreds came - The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples, And leaves of every name. The Sunshine spread a carpet, And everything was grand, Miss Weather led the dancing, Professor Wind the band. Author: George Cooper Encourage your child to use these words to write about Autumn. It doesn't have to be a long piece of writing. It might be a poem, though I always find poetry writing doesn't suit all children and If I sense it isn't appropriate I don't push it. I always emphasise quality over quantity. Having written it, then edit with your child and then let them write it our neatly, or even type it our on the computer. Display their writing alongside the leaf prints. It right cheers the home! READING AND NATURE STUDY A good trip to the library should furnish you with plenty of material for studying autumn. best of all, aim to turn your house into your own good library, filled with good quality books. There is so much to learn from the biology of trees and plants and what happens to them in autumn - why do trees lose their leaves? Why do the plants die back? Then there are animals: studying squirrels - why do they bury their nuts? and spiders - why are they so obvious in autumn? Can children learn to identify trees by their leaves/fruit? Do they know that not all fruit is edible? What is the purpose of fruit? From here can spring more writing, and lots of reading - but don't make everything into a 'lesson' - let it just be natural finding out. You don't need to do a worksheet on everything. Just feed in questions and encourage them to find answers by going to look for them, with them.
*NEW*
Six weeks of autumnal activtities for your home-school covering Scripture, Maths and English (to supplement your exisiting curriculum), Science, Geogrphy, Art and History. Only £2 plus a FREE copy of 'Autumn Maths Activities for ages 4-6'.
Useful Resources from this site:
Two pictures of squirrels with some questions to answer.
Acorn poem handwriting sheet
Four sheets: Copy underneath and colour the pictures and turn them into a little book tracing a tree through a year.
For older children there is mushroom identification, the study of the seasons and lengthening days and the studying migration of birds, for starters.
For a general science book that covers weather and seasons I reccomend Apologia:
If you have enjoyed these activities, you will find plenty more in
Nature Explorers the Christian monthly nature magazine for children aged 4 to 8, all based on a 6 day Creation. Priced at: £8 for a PDF version delivered by e-mail £30 for a high quality print edition delivered to your door. Please see www.natureobservations.weebly.com for further information.
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Welcome!After studying for an Early Years Specialism degree (B.Ed. Hons), and teaching in mainstream education, I home-educated my own children, after my husband and I were persuaded of the need to take responsibility for bringing up our children 'in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.' (Ephesians 6:4) We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
This costs the purchaser nothing extra. In this way I can continue to provide free resources. Thank you for your support. Looking for a read-aloud?
Here's one I heartlily reccomend for ages 10 +. Search
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The First book from Christina Eastwood - the first in a triology - only £5.99 (ages 8 to 13).
Now available in PRINT!
See here Now available in PRINT
See here Now available in PRINT
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