Learning with leaves

This week we are doing a unit on fall, using leaves as the theme. This poster board hangs on a door, and the children match letters. Working with hands up instead of on a flat surface strengthens the hand/thumb area, in preparation for holding a writing instrument.

First, stick a square of clear packaging tape on the letter on the branch, then roll duct tape and stick it to the back of each leaf letter. The children match and stick them on the clear tape for easy removal.

I also have a large Zip-loc bag of autumn, silk leaves, (you can print letters/numbers/shapes on each, or not).

I teach the children this song: Leaves-leaves, yellow and brown, leaves are falling down to the ground. Leaves-leaves orange and red, one leaf landed right... on... my... HEAD!

As they sing, I pour the leaves over them, and some actually land on their heads! The preschoolers squeal with delight. Once the leaves are all over the floor, the kids become leaf blowers. They lie on their tummy and BLOW the leaves into a pile in a designated area. Blowing strengthens mouth/jaw/lips/tongue muscles which aids in speech development.