Fall is Here!

Like I mentioned in my last post: it's been hot around here!  It never fails, though, just around this time of year the little signs start popping up.  The big maple at the bottom of the hill is changing colors, the birds start flying in big numbers, the winds pick up... But our biggest aha moment was this Monday when we made our weekly trip to our neighborhood park.  We've been sitting under the same oak tree all summer.  Some of the kids will bring their nature journals along and make entries.  Mama found a perfect one this week: the leaves right above us.

I've been checking my favorite etsy stores for some fall Montessori & nature activities for my little guys.  They've really enjoyed that there is always something waiting for them to do in this little spot.  I put several counting and sorting type activities for them in a basket and on the table:

For my bigger kiddos I've enjoyed having an identification chart on my frame and

our book basket.  We have our usual favorites that we enjoy this time of year, but I only put some new titles in the basket this season.  Our inspiration this fall comes from Dorothy Sterling's Fall Is Here! and Tasha Tudor's Pumpkin Moonshine (we can't wait for annual pumpkin picking).

 

The new to us titles include:

* Fall Is Here! by Dorothy Sterling
*The Scarecrow by Caroline Rush (daughter of Mary Norton)
*The Very Best Pumpkin by Mark Kimball Moulton
*From Seed to Pumpkin by Wendy Pfeffer
*A Forest Year by Carol Lerner
*Into the Pumpkin by Linda Franklin (more of a halloween book, but some neat illustrations)
*Witches, Pumpkins, and Grinning Ghosts by Edna Barth