Fun with Fall Leaves!

Allow me to introduce one of my amazing teachers to you – Miss Abby! I have asked Miss Abby to begin sharing some of her own perspectives on my blog for a couple of reasons…

  1.  It will definitely help me to keep blogging more regularly to have her help and
  2. I think others will enjoy seeing Abby’s perspective on teaching young children.

I am an old veteran teacher and Abby is a fresh new young teacher with lots of ideas and energy. This is Abby’s second year to work in my program as a teacher and I can’t tell you how amazing she (and all my staff) are both in and out of the classroom.  I will let Abby share more about herself as she has the time but for today, I have asked Abby to choose something we have recently done in the classroom that she would like to share her thoughts on.  I am encouraging Abby to reflect on her own observations and ideas in the process of blogging with me and hope you will enjoy reading and connecting to the different perspectives we each share as we go along this school year….

Fun with Fall Leaves by Miss Abby

We are very fortunate to have a gorgeous wooded area conveniently located right in our own backyard here at our school. Along with each tree in these woods comes probably a few hundred leaves per branch, and these leaves are finally changing into some seriously vivid colors with fall moving in. Today with our preschool class, we went outdoors to explore the different colors that the leaves change into as this season progresses, observing different greens, yellows, oranges, and even browns!

Fall Leaves by Teach Preschool

To further discuss these changes, I gave the children a chance to take a look at the shapes of the different types of leaves found in our yard, and they also got to put some color back on the dried out, brown leaves. After explaining the process of the activity, the children then had the opportunity to go about adding their fall colors and working with the leaves in their own way.

Fall Leaves by Teach Preschool

Some enjoyed mixing the colors…

Fall Leaves by Teach Preschool

Some simply gave new, colorful life to the crunchy, brown leaves.

Fall Leaves by Teach Preschool

We even took some time to cut the leaves up! And of course we had to see what else scissors could cut (example A: the box)…

Fall Leaves by Teach Preschool

While I think the children enjoyed getting to explore the leaves via things like paint, tape and scissors, and even a little leaf sensory play at the light table (leaves in a gel bag) – in retrospect I know now that I could have spent more time discussing the different details of the leaves with these guys during our circle time.

Fall Leaves by Teach Preschool

I think it’s really important to build that personal connection during circle time with the tools they’ll be using later, so that the children have more of an interest in the activities they’ll be doing. I think in this case, things still went very well and the children enjoyed the different processes as they explored the leaves but for future reference I will definitely spend more time creating dialogue that really connects the children to what they will be seeing and doing around the classroom that day.

Fall Leaves by Teach Preschool

There was definitely a lot of thought that the children put into their fall leaf creations, and the results were beautiful!

Fall Leaves by Teach Preschool

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Deborah J Stewart

Deborah J Stewart

Every time I think I know everything I need to know about teaching young children, God says, "Hold on a minute!" and gives me a new challenge.

Let me tell ya...

With each new challenge that you overcome, you will find yourself better equipped and more passionate about teaching young children.

God didn't call wimps to lead, teach, or care for His children. Nope, he has high expectations, so get ready. You will have to give your very best but after teaching for over 30 years, I can tell you that it is a wonderful and rewarding journey.

Whenever your calling feels hard, just remember, 'He who began a good work in you (and in the children you serve) will be faithful to complete it.'

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