By Zoey on October 7th, 2017
Everybody loves the beauty of fall leaves. Happily, there are many wonderful books written on this subject for preschoolers. One of my favorites is Mouse’s First Fall 
by Lauren Thompson. The story tells of Mouse and his sister Minka’s journey outside on a cool fall day. They discover leaves of all colors and all shapes and sizes. Mouse learns about all the different experiences the fall season can bring.
After listening to the book, my class is always excited to make their own fall trees. Each child is provided with a tree trunk that has been glued onto a piece of paper and a variety of colored popcorn. The popcorn is colored beforehand with powder tempera paint. The easiest method is to put the paint in a baggie, add the popcorn, and then shake it up until it’s coated. I only had orange, red, and yellow, but purple, green, and brown also make beautiful trees. I then prompt the children to glue their “leaves” onto the tree. This activity encourages creative expression, provides color recognition practice, and strengthens fine motor skills.
MATERIALS USED:
– Construction paper
– Popcorn
– Ziploc Storage Bags Gallon, 75 Count
– Powder tempera paint ( I only had orange, red and yellow, but purple, green, and brown also make beautiful trees).
– Glue
– Scissors
– Our free tree template
By Gigi on October 3rd, 2017
Let’s make some truly magnificent broomsticks! This extension activity for the delightful book Room on the Broom
is all kinds of fun. Paired with the story, this craft helps children to practice rhyming (phonemic awareness), rhythm and repetition, pro-social behavior, creative expression, and fine motor skills.
This exciting book is written by Julia Donaldson, and is brought to life by the colorful and extremely beautiful illustrations of Axel Scheffler. This is the same bestselling, award-winning team who created The Gruffalo
.
Room on the Broom tells the story of a friendly witch and a remarkable journey on her broomstick. From the start, the weather conditions are against her; the witch loses her belongings (hat, bow, and wand). She meets a cast of helpful characters along the way and offers them all a ride on her broomstick. Together they are able to overcome adversity. The friends not only find the witch’s missing possessions, they also escape a hungry dragon!
MATERIALS USED:
– Paper towel rolls
– Brown tempera paint
– Paper bags
– Twine
– Scissors
– Glue
– Star stickers
– Glitter
– Small acrylic craft jewels 
Have children paint their paper towel rolls and sprinkle them with glitter while they’re still wet. Once the rolls are dry, little ones can decorate their broomsticks with stickers and jewels, and any other items provided. Give each child a strip of paper bag and have them fringe cut the edges. They can glue their fringe on their sticks and you can help them wrap and tie the twine around it. A crumpled ball of paper can then be glued into the front of the broom, and voila! Behold some truly magnificent brooms!
By Gigi on September 28th, 2017
Collages are an open-ended activity where children can be creative with just about anything. These Halloween pumpkin collages are made from materials other than paper. I provided small scraps of fabric, felt, ribbon, and other goodies. Use your imagination and look through your art supplies for a variety of things that can be glued.
It is best when children are able to use the items they select to decorate their pumpkins as they see fit. Some young learners will cover their entire pieces; other will not. Some may use only one color, while others may enjoy using and mixing all of the elements.
MATERIALS USED:
– Construction paper
– Glue
– Scissors
– Our free printable pumpkin template
– Fabric scraps
– Feathers
– Pom poms
– Buttons
– Foam stickers
– Acrylic craft jewels
– Faux fall leaves
– Pipe cleaners/fuzzy sticks
– Crinkle cut paper
- 
- 
- 
is all kinds of fun. Paired with the story, this craft helps children to practice rhyming (phonemic awareness), rhythm and repetition, pro-social behavior, creative expression, and fine motor skills.
. 
