Exploring Leaves, Name Recognition, Pumpkin Poking, and Choice Time!

•  At Large Group:
• We read “Leaf Man” by Lois Elhert and then used leaves to create our own leaf man.

• We put various sized leaves in a tub of water and guessed how many paper clips it would take to make them sink. We talked about bigger leaves needing more  and smaller leaves needing less weight. When we were done we added leaves and paperclips to the water table.

• We wrote the kids’ names on leaf cutouts and then threw them up in the air. We sang a song while the kiddos found their names.
• We read the story "There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Leaves" and used cutouts from the story to feed "Granny". 

•  At Small Group:
• We worked on name identification by tracing our names and matching foam stickers.

• We practiced our patterns with counting bears and unfix cubes.

•  We measured leaves with unifix cubes and then measured each other with leaves.

• We used our five senses to describe leaves and then sorted them into different groups (size, shape, color).

• We also worked on rhymes, counting, & one to one correspondence.
•  At Planning/Recall:
•  We made “spider soup” - we took spider rings, a spoon, and a bowl and added ingredients while we shared what we did at choice time. Then they each took turns slurping some soup before they went to get ready for outside. They LOVED this!
•  At Choice Time: 
• Discovery Area: We added real leaves & pumpkins for them to explore. They used hammers and golf tees to poke holes in the pumpkins. This is great for fine motor practice.

• Art Area: We also added real leaves to the art area. They have been making leaf rubbings, using leaves to paint, & adding leaves to their artwork. They also really enjoyed making things with cardboard tubes this week. 

This was a big collaboration project. We worked on this the entire afternoon choice time on Thursday. I'm excited to see what play it inspires next week. :)

• Sensory Tub: We added Halloween themed objects to our sensory tub. They enjoy feeling all the different textures.
• Writing Area: 

Practicing our letter E.

One of our little guys wrote all his numbers on the board. 

• Block Area: 

• Dramatic Play Area:

• Toys & Games Area:

Counting spiders and putting them on their webs.