Preschool Arts and Literacy Club - Leaves

We had our second meeting of our Preschool Arts and Literacy Club and our theme was LEAVES. Once again we had the meeting at my home, but this time we were a bit more smart in our approach.

First things first, the playroom was closed!  It made the whole event less stressful for me and clean up was a breeze.

We had many activities set up around the house for kids to participate in while we were waiting for everyone to arrive.  I had emailed the mamas beforehand to let them know where the activities would be located and what was available at each station.  Kristen and I hope to have these same sort of activities available each session so the kids can become used to going to an activity while waiting to come together as a group. This week we had:

Leaf rubbing plates....

Pumpkin Spice Play-Dough Tray

Fall Sensory Bucket

Felt Board Activities - both of these AWESOME activities came from the busy bag exchange I belong to - love that group!

                                 

Having the activities available for when the kids came into the house worked wonders - and kept them all engaged until we were ready to begin.

Our first book was Fletcher and the Falling Leaves - this was a sweet story about a fox and the changing of the leaves. 

After the story we made collages with "treasures" we had found out in nature. We displayed our treasures on contact paper.  We had pieces of scrapbook paper for the kids to use as a border or frame around their collage if they so wished.  We then covered over the top of the collage with another piece of contact paper.  The end result was a fabulous fall display, perfect for any window in your home. 

( Note: Sassy Sis used her scrapbook pieces as part of her overall collage, not just as a frame!)

Our second book was a perfect book for the little ones to get involved in the story. We read We're Going on a Leaf Hunt - adapted from We're Going on a Bear Hunt.  Since the story has a repetitive nature and many lines that lend themselves to hand motions - the kids were thoroughly involved in the story.

Our project after this book was a tree collage with stamped leaves. We used wine corks for the colorful fall leaves.  I found this awesome idea here. Both of my two loved this project - especially using the corks as a stamper.

Our snack this week was crackers and cheese - the cheese cut out in the shape of leaves, of course! 

And we sang some songs - the favorite being:

Creative Movement/Song: This Is the Way We Rake the Leaves(Tune: Mulberry Bush)
This is the way we rake the leaves, rake the leaves, rake the leaves
This is the way we rake the leaves, on an autumn morning
This is the way we pick the apples, pick the apples, pick the apples
This is the way we pick the apples, on an autumn morning
This is the way we feed the squirrels, feed the squirrels, feed the squirrels
This is the way we feed the squirrels, on an autumn morning

It was another great meeting of our club! We read, sang songs, did some art, enjoyed some treats, and had fun together.  One more week at my home and then we'll be on to having our group at the library meeting room - which I have to admit I'm a bit excited for! Stay tuned, our next session's theme will be PUMPKINS.