These last few weeks, we have been busy enjoying all that autumn has to offer! Autumn lends itself naturally to hands-on, multi-sensory exploration; whether we are carving pumpkins, tasting freshly picked apples, making leaf prints, or reading stories about this special season. In addition to working with natural materials and seasonal books, we’ve been focusing on fall colors – selecting shades of red, brown, orange, and yellow for our classroom materials.

During our meetings, we’ve been exploring pumpkins together. We’ve talked about how pumpkins look, feel, and taste, and used songs to practice vocabulary and counting skills.

I’m a Little Pumpkin (to the tune of I’m a Little Teapot):

I’m a little pumpkin, orange and round.

Here is my stem, and here is my skin.

When you cut me open, you will find:

Seeds, flesh, and strings inside!

Five Little Pumpkins!

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate

The first one said, “Oh my, it’s getting late.”

The second one said, “There are witches in the air!”

The third one said, “But we don’t care!”

The fourth one said, “Let’s run and run and run!”

The fifth one said, “I’m ready for some fun.”

Oooooooo went the wind, and out went the light (CLAP!)

And the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight.

Group conversations, songs, and read-alouds allow students to practice their oral language, build confidence, and connect with peers.

We asked the children: What do you think is inside the pumpkin? What will we find when we cut open the pumpkin?

Some guesses included:

– Toys

– Broccoli

– A pan

After much anticipation, we carved our large pumpkin and found out what was inside! Students used their five senses to explore the pumpkin in our sensory table. We felt the sticky, stringy flesh, noticed the orange hues, and scooped the endless seeds.

We also used our pumpkins to act out “pumpkin shows” for the children. We frequently use puppets or other objects to model routines, activities, and new experiences throughout the week. These puppet shows allow children to know what to expect, process their thoughts and experiences, and practice skills without pressure. Our pumpkins practiced using the potty, playing with friends, and talking about our schedule.

While pumpkins have been a big focus, we’ve also dug into other autumn adventures.

We made a spooky sensory table using water, funnels, tubes, and insects.

We used the wind tunnel to blow leaves up in the air!

We used paint and stamps to make leaf prints.

We collected leaves on the roof and made some rubbings.

We played with pine cones! We added them to our kitchen and used tongs to arrange them in a tray.

Then we decided to paint the pine cones and decorate the table.