Joy School - Autumn

Our Joy School lesson this week was about Autumn. We started off with a review of what the four seasons were and them moved into the topic of the day.

Lesson Time: In our lesson we learned about the cooler weather that comes in the fall, and how this is the time to prepare for winter. People harvest crops, animals start growing heavier coats and eating lots of extra food. We looked at all kinds of clothing and decided what would be the best choice for a crisp, fall day. We talked about fun things we could do in the fall, like go pumpkin picking, fly kites, and play in the crunchy leaves.

We also spent time learning about 'pigments' or colors inside of leaves. In the summer time, all we can see is the green pigment, but when fall comes and the trees stop producing it and we can see all the beautiful colors that the green was hiding. Brown, purple, red, orange, and yellow.

Science Time: We sorted out paper leaves and found many ways to group them; by shape, by size, and by color. The kids were very good at this and thought of great ways to divide the leaves.

Snack Time: We enjoyed some yummy Autumn Cookies.

Craft Time: This was a great craft. Each child made a scarecrow. The body was a tongue depressor and cardboard clothes (pants, shirt, hat) had been glued on in advance. Then the kids got to choose fabric clothes (also cut out in advance) that they would glue to their scarecrow. Then they could add patches, straw, and a face. It was so fun, and they were so proud of what they made.

Wiggle Time: It was a perfect fall day and we went outside and played in the leaves. There were plenty of them, and we made a big pile and jumped in it and tossed it around over and over. We were also happy to discover half a dozen ladybugs as we played.

Art Time: We brought in some leaves from outside and did some leaf rubbing.

Story Time: We read this book, all about a mother and her child, and a bear and her child, who all went to the blueberry patch to store up food for winter.