Lesson Plan- Fall time

Welcome Song:
Hello___________, hello _____________, hello ______________, welcome to nature school.

Name necklace:
If you haven't made a tree ring name necklace, I brought the supplies. Feel free to make a necklace with your name on one side and a picture of the other (parents help their child write their name clearly). This will help us all learn one another's names.

Introduction:
Does anyone know what season it is? Fall! Today is the first day! What are some special things that happen in the fall? Colder, days get shorter, leaves change color, Halloween, Thanksgiving.

Letter of the Day:
L for leaf. Does anyone have an L in their name?

Songs: Whitney

Dance: Roxanne

Lesson:
I have a special story to share with you today! Once upon a time there was a beautiful, big, strong tree names Oakie. In the spring, Oakie had little buds that would grow on the tips of her branches. As the days got warmer, the buds would open up into lovely green leaves. Oakie LOVED her green leaves so much. When the wind would blow, her leaves would rustle and dance in the wind. In the summer, Oakie's leaves provided food for fuzzy cute caterpillars. Her leaves were a safe place for birds to build nests in.

You want to know what was really cool about Oakie's leaves? They made special tree food for her. When the sun shined on her leaves, they would turn the sunlight into food (with the help of Chlorophyl). At the end of the summer, the days got shorter, so there wasn't as much sunlight for Oakie. Her leaves couldn't make as much food. With less food, Oakie started feeling really tired. Oakie wanted to go to sleep for the winter.

Pretty soon, the leaves started falling down and Oakie couldn't make anymore special tree food, so Oakie took a long, long nap. Even though her branches were bare, she wasn't dead or hurt. Just sleeping! Before long, it was spring again, and the days started getting warmer and longer and Oakie began to wake up. Soon, little buds started growing on Oakies branches again, new leaves to make more food for Oakie!

Books: Leaf Man

Exploration: Give each child a paper bag. We are going to make our own Leaf Man. Go ahead and collect some leaves, acorns, twigs, seeds, nuts, and put them into your bag. Take time to notice things around you. The smell, the wind, the sun, the sounds. When you get home, you can use some glue and paper to glue your collection into a Leaf Man or any other thing you observed.