Fall Learning Activities with Leaves and More

I know it’s not technically fall yet but I’m so ready, and there are a lot of great ideas for learning with fall items like leaves and acorns that you should have in mind when the time comes. Here are (more than!) a few to get you started. Check out this article on the best STEM gifts for kids.

I’d love to know if you incorporate natural materials into learning during the fall or any other time of year!

Fall STEM

Leaf Chromatography — remove the color from leaves — Schooling a Monkey

Measuring Leaves — And Next Comes L (she also has a great math tray using fall materials)

Tracing the Veins of a Leaf — Go Science Girls

Counting Nature — Mom Explores the Rockies

Subtracting with Ten Frames — Leaf Theme — Life Over Cs

Math Activities Using Natural Materials — The Usual Mayhem

Activities for Little Learners

Leaf Number Sort and Alphabet Leaf Activity — A Dab of Glue Will Do (check out this great list of fall books for littles, too)

Fall Sensory Bin — Ms. Jones’ Creation Station (also grab her colors of fall printable coloring book for emergent readers)

Acorn Fine Motor Activities — Little Bins for Little Hands (don’t miss her fall discovery table, sensory bottles and fall slime, too!)

Fall Sight Word Flashcards — Look We’re Learning (also fall play dough mats)

More Fun Activities

Tree Leaf Collection — with identification cards — Preschool Powol Packets

Leaf Identification Printables — Look We’re Learning (also check out Scarecrow Syllables for second graders and her All About Leaves printable pack)

Next Plan Idea:

Leaf Reading and Writing Activities

If you want to teach kids the basics of Hanukkah in the classroom or at home, the picture book Hanukkah by Lesléa Newman and illustrated by Rotem Teplow is a nice place to start.

The book explores the Jewish holiday through the eyes of Lior, a boy whose name means “my light” in Hebrew, which is appropriate for talking about the Festival of Lights.

The book goes through all the preparations the family does, including cleaning, setting the table and cleaning the menorah. It talks about what the menorah symbolizes and the Hanukkah story of the oil in the Holy Temple of Jerusalem lasting for eight days when it should have only been a one-day supply.

The meaning of the letters on the dreidel are also explored, in that when you are in Israel they have a different fourth word (the letters symbolize the Hebrew letters for “a great miracle happened there” or, in Israel, “a great miracle happened here”).

Because the story of Hanukkah involves oil, a lot of the foods that are eaten during the celebration are fried in oil, such as latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiyot (fried jelly doughnuts). Other foods mentioned include challah, noodle kugel and sour cream and applesauce, which are served with the latkes. Family and friends drop by to share their food, light their menorahs together and play dreidel (the game is explained in the story). It also talks about how the candles are lit through the eight days and what happens at the end of Hanukkah.

The book includes Hanukkah blessings in English and Hebrew and talks about the lunar cycle of the Hebrew calendar, which is why Hanukkah is sometimes celebrated in November and sometimes in December. It also talks about why Jewish holidays are celebrated beginning at sunset rather than in the morning.

Other topics covered include Hanukkah greetings; how to spell Hanukkah; how to make an edible menorah and an tzedakah box (to collect money for charity); recipes for latkes and applesauce; and a more detailed story of Hanukkah than is included within the story of the book. There’s also a quiz to see how well you were paying attention.

This sweet little book is a quick read and a cute overview of the basics of Hanukkah and what the symbols, foods and games mean. It’s a great book for classrooms or at home for sharing basic knowledge.

About the book: 48 pages, hardcover. Published 2024 by words & pictures, suggested retail price $14.99.

Next Plan Idea:

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