AUTUMN LEAVES

Compiled by Robyn © March 2005

Autumn is upon us! Autumn begins at the end of March in the Southern Hemisphere. Discuss the four seasons or refresh if you’ve already covered them. A season is a time of the year that has a particular kind of weather. In most parts of the world there are four seasons ~ Autumn, Winter, Spring and Summer. Autumn comes just after summer and just before winter. You could use this opportunity to do some sequencing exercises, learning more about ‘before’ and ‘after’. In Autumn, the weather becomes cooler, the days become shorter and it gets light later and darker earlier. The leaves change from greens to yellows and reds and oranges and gold and fall from the trees. Some trees remain green and these trees are called evergreens. Some animals start growing thicker fur for the winter. Some birds and butterflies fly to somewhere warmer.

Why do we have four seasons?

Find out more about the seasons and axis tilt from Enchanted Learning

CRAFTS AND ACTIVITIES

My Autumn Leaf Book

Make an autumn leaf book by putting all of the leaf crafts below in a book when they are finished. You can also add the rhymes & songs below and decorate the pages or write/dictate your own autumn thoughts and poems.

Nature Walk - Leaf Collecting

Go outdoors and take a walk somewhere where there are lots of autumn trees. Talk about the parts of the tree eg the leaves, trunk, branches, roots. Compare shapes, bark, leaves and seeds of the different trees. Collect fallen leaves, try and get as many different colours as you can. Talk about the leaves you have collected. Study their similarities and differences. Try to name the types of trees that they came from.

Leaf Rubbings

Chose different leaves and place them one at a time under a piece of white paper with the vein side of the leaf facing up. Use the flat edge of a wax crayon and rub across the leaf including the veins, the stem and the shape of the leaf. For a different effect, try overlapping the edges of leaves and use different colour crayons.

Autumn Collage

Make a collage with real autumn leaves, acorns, sticks, bark and anything red, yellow, orange, gold or brown.

Leaf Observations

Choose an interesting leaf from your nature walk to draw. When you get home, label your leaf. Vein etc.

See this Simple Leaf External Anatomy Diagram Printout from Enchanted Learning

Leaf Tracings

Paint a piece of white paper with red and yellow paints. You can also mix the paints to create orange. Allow patterns to dry. Flip the paper over and trace around the edge of some leaves you found. Then cut them out and stick them on brown paper to add to your Autumn Leaf book.

Falling Leaf Dance

Whirl and twirl as you impersonate windblown autumn leaves falling from the trees. Set the stage for this movement activity with the appropriate instrumental music.

Leaf Painting

Paint a picture using leaves and twigs instead of brushes!

Leaf Prints

Make leaf prints by painting real leaves in different autumn colours and pressing them onto paper.

Preserve your Autumn Leaves

Place a bright autumn leaf between two sheets of wax paper. Cover with several layers of newspaper. Press with a warm iron, sealing the wax paper together with the leaf in between. Cut your leaves out leaving a bit of wax paper around the leaf.

Arm Trees with Fingerprint Leaves

Trace hand and arm to about the elbow, spreading the fingers to create the tree branches. Paint the tree's trunk and branches brown. Dip one fingertip at a time into red, orange and yellow paint and then press all over the paper, especially on the ground. Makes a beautiful picture!

Symmetrical Leaves

Fold autumn colour papers in half and cut half leaf shapes out.

Leaf People
Glue a leaf on a piece of paper with the smaller side on top. Draw legs, arms, and a head to create a person.

SONGS AND RHYMES

Taking A Walk

Taking a walk is so much fun!
We don't hurry,
We don't run.
We watch for birds,
We watch for bees,
We watch for all the falling leaves.

~ Mary Jackson Ellis

Little leaves fall gently down,

Red and yellow, orange and brown.

~ Author unknown

The Leaves Are Falling Down

(tune ~ "The Farmer’s in The Dell")
The leaves are falling down,
The leaves are falling down,
Red, orange, yellow, brown,
The leaves are falling down.

~ Author unknown

WORKSHEETS AND PRINTABLES

Autumn Leaves Colouring Pages from Coloring.ws

Autumn Colouring Pages from Primary Games

Fall Mazes from Kids Domain

Little Printable Fall Leaf Number Book from Bry-Backmanor *

DLTK Colour by Number Leaf Printable

DLTK Printable Leaf Templates

Kidszone Autumn Printable Maths Worksheets for Grade 1 – 5 *

RECOMMENDED READING

CRAFTS AND ACTIVITIES

SONGS AND RHYMES

WORKSHEETS AND PRINTABLES

LINKS

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