Leaves

• Use the warm autumn colors for inspiration in your art lessons. Make collages out of fall leaves, or learn about the color wheel by mixing colors to create rich autumn tones and painting a mural.
  
  Create a "Poet Tree". Use brown butcher paper to cut out the basic shape of a tree with branches. Assign each child a poet, and have him bring in a poem from that poet to share with the class. Write each poet's name on a leaf die cut and tape it to the tree.
  
  Identify trees by examining their leaves. Divide children into groups and provide them each with an assortment of different real or silk leaves. Give them a field guide or print out a sheet to help them identify which leaf goes with which tree.
  
  

Halloween

• As Halloween approaches, take advantage of the many kinds of creatures associated with it for a theme.
  
  Study animals associated with Halloween, such as bats, spiders and cats. Bring in cardboard skeletons or "Dem Bones" candy and learn about the different bones in the body.
  
  Explore the roots of Halloween. Learn about superstitions and how they may have been formed by people who did not understand their world. Learn about the history of the jack-o'-lantern.
  
  

Harvest

• Anything related to farms and the process of growing and harvesting food is an ideal fall theme idea.
  
  Plan a field trip to tour a farm. Learn about barnyard animals. Play matching games with fruits and vegetables.
  
  Cut open fruits, such as pumpkins and apples, and study seeds and the growing cycle. Explore the process of making maple syrup or how wheat becomes bread.
  
  

Notable People, Places and Dates

• The Massachusetts Bay Colony, Pilgrims, Native Americans and the first Thanksgiving Day are common lesson themes for the Autumn season, but there are so many others to draw on.
  
  Examine migrant seasonal farmers and the work they do.
  
  For September, plan a theme around the artist Grandma Moses for her birthday on the 7th or Francis Scott Key who wrote the Star-Spangled Banner on September 14th, 1814.
  
  Thomas Edison showed the very first motion picture in October 1889, so plan a media theme on the origins of movies. Revolve a theme around the Statue of Liberty, dedicated in October 1886.
  
  Discuss the November 2000 opening of the International Space Station. Explore the meaning of Veteran's Day on the 11th, or celebrate the anniversary of the Gettysburg Address on the 19th.