Autumn Leaves

Books

🌿🌻Little Acorn by Melanie Joyce
This illustrated board book tells the story of an acorn’s life cycle from nut to nut-bearing tree. The rhyme schemes are typically sound, but the rhythm can be a lot more challenging to find than in the book Little Raindrop.

🌿🌻Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert
This illustrated fictional story describes a “leaf man” that disappears with the wind. The story and pictures take us through a landscape of pictures and characters imagined in leaf arrangements on the ground. Also available as a board book.

🌿🌻Baby Explorer: Leaves by Carol Lawrence (Illustrated by Francesco Zito)

🌿Full of Fall by April Pulley Sayre
Vivid photo illustrations and rhythmic verses explore the autumn changing of the leaves, including sumac, maple, birch, and oak. Examine vibrant arrays of red, orange, & yellow in contrast with decomposing brown leaves.

🌿A Leaf Can Be by Laura Purdie Salas
In this illustrated book of rhythm and rhymes, Salas describes the different functions of leaves through the seasons of the year.

🌿Colors of Fall by Laura Purdie Salas

🌿Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert
This illustrated book provides information through fictional narrative. A child tells the story of how her maple tree grew from a seed and describes the way the tree changes throughout the year.

🌿Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn by Kenard Park
This illustrated book takes us through different concepts at the turn of the season, saying goodbye to Summer things and hello to Autumn things.

🌿Leaves on the Trees by Thom Wiley
This book presents another adaptation of “Autumn Leaves are Falling Down” to the tune of “London Bridge.” While I am not quite impressed by the illustration style in this book, I do enjoy the way it reads. Many of the trees presented in this book are not native to the upper midwest (and some simply aren’t found up here), but I find it an excellent addition to our Autumn Leaves collection nonetheless.

🌿If You Find a Leaf by Aimee Jicuno
This book uses a combination of photocopy and watercolor illustrations to show a child imagining the different things a leaf might be, such as a hat, a mask, or a hot-air balloon!

The Leaf Thief by Alice Hemming
In this story of illustrated fiction, a squirrel is very alarmed to realized that one of the leaves in his tree has gone missing. He makes frantic inquiries of his neighbors throughout the book and a friend patiently reminds him that, just like last year, the wind has blown the fall leaves loose.

A Very Big Fall by Emmy Kastner
In this silly illustrated story, a group of leaves are curious about what the squirrels are telling them about fall. What is fall? What colors will they turn? When will they fall? Birch is excited, Oak is anxious, and Maple is impatient and a little grumpy. In the end, a child picks up the three fallen leaves and brings them inside to create artwork of creative tracings!

Creative Art Opportunities

🍁Leaf collage on contact paper – hang in window
🍁Crayon rubbings on paper over leaves
🍁Paint with leaves/leaf collage over paint
🍁Rolling pinecones or acorns in paint in a box
🍁Trace leaves with pencils
🍁Paint over a leaf arrangement to create a relief image
🍁Create a collage with paper-punched leaf confetti
🍁Draw with fall colors on paper using markers, chalk, or colored pencils
🍁Use fall colored paints (red, orange, yellow, green, brown, and/or purple)

Hands On Experiences

⛅️Sort real acorns or wooden acorns (like these)
⛅️Transfer acorns or small pinecones between two bowls using spoon or tongs
⛅️Put together a leaf puzzle like this one
⛅️Explore large pinecones and real or faux leaves in a sensory bin
⛅️Explore leaves in a sensory bin
⛅️Label the parts of a leaf or tree
⛅️Drop leaves into a slot
⛅️Drop acorns through a paper towel tube
⛅️Create a leaf crown using braided twine or a straw hat
🌿Drop leaves into water (stream, puddle, pond)
🌿Drop leaves from a tall place (deck, balcony, tower)
🌿Collecting leaves in a basket or tummy pack
🌿Collect acorns under a tree
🌿Throw leaves up in the air outside
🌿Play with scarves or leaves in the win

Songs to Learn and Sing

“Falling Leaf” – Stephanie Leavell (excerpt)

Fall, fall, fall, fall, fall… Fall, fall, fall, fall, fall
I’m a whirly-twirly leaf so I fall, fall, fall, fall, fall
Till the wind comes back again…

Then I spin, spin, spin, spin, spin… Spin, spiin, spin, spin, spin
I’m a whirly-twirly leaf and I spin, spin, spin, spin, spin
‘Til the wind comes back again

The wind comes down so I take a little rest
The wind comes down so I catch my breath
the wind comes down so I take a little rest
Until the wind…. until the wind… until the wind comes back again

“Blowing in the Wind” – Stephanie Leavell (excerpt)

Blowing in the wind, blowing in the wind, my scarf is blowing in the wind
Falling down, falling down, with a “whoosh” and “plop”
Blowing in the wind, blowing in the wind, my scarf is blowing in the wind
Falling down, falling down, with a “whoosh” and “plop”

Dancing in the wind, dancing in the wind, my scarf is dancing in the wind
Falling down, falling down, with a “whoosh” and “plop”
Dancing in the wind, dancing in the wind, my scarf is dancing in the wind
Falling down, falling down, with a “whoosh” and “plop”

It’s time to sneak, put it in a ball, make it so tiny and small
It’s time to sneak, put it in a ball, now ready – set – throw!

“Fall of the Year” – Margaret Wise Brown, from Celebration of the Seasons

The world’s on fire in the cold, clear air
The world shout’s “Autumn” everywhere
All the little animals began to grow more fur
All the summer birds began to fly away
The little gray kitten came out of the wind to purr
And the leaves blew away
All in one day

Darkness came before the night
The air grew cold enough to bite
Chrysanthemums were shaggy yellow
The leaves turned red
The leaves turned brown
They tumbled all over the frosty ground

The world’s on fire in the cold, clear air
The World shouts “Autumn” everywhere

“Donguri Korokoro” – Japanese children’s song (excerpt from Lisa Loeb & Elizabeth Mitchell’s translation)

Acorn rolling, rolling along
Acorn fell into a pond
Eel came up and said “Hi, hello
Hey, kid, will you play with me?”
Acorn rolling, rolling with joy
Acorn and eel play with joy
But acorn longs for his mountain home
Eel says, “I’m sad you will go home”

“The Acorn’s Roll” – Claudia Robin Gunn (excerpt)

Acorns fall and roll away
Schoolkids sift and sort and trade
Green turns brown and shades of golden
Autumn mornings out collecting

And the children play under the old oak trees
And the acorns roll
The apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree
But the acorns roll

I’ll give you five that I hid right here
Milly says wait I gotta a few more there
I’m gonna fill my lunchbox full
Harry says whatcha gonna eat them too?
Polly says bury them, save them in the ground
Next year we’ll count the ones that sprout
Acorn fever in the senior school

NIYN – Autumn Leaves on Spotify
All playlists are works in progress and are actively curated when I have a unit in play or preparation, so new songs may appear and old songs may be removed if they don’t suit my designs.

Poems

Nothing Gold Can Stay by Robert Frost

Fall Leaves Fall by Emily Bronte