Autumn in First Grade

Maple, oak and elm leaves adorning three classroom trees, jack-o-lanterns under the trees, creepy carrots hanging from the lights, sassafras leaf rubbings hanging in the hall, experimenting with leaves to understand photosynthesis and ”why leaves change colors in the fall,” taking walks at home with Mom and Dad to find four different leaves to observe and compare, are only some of the things the children have worked on as they welcomed the beautiful season of Autumn. 

It was so heartwarming, one morning, for me to see upon arrival four children sitting on the floor in the coat room excited about sharing and comparing the four leaves in their assigned leaf folder that they had found for homework.  I asked them “are you having a party in here and didn’t invite me?”  They laughed and didn’t hesitate to inform me that “We are showing each other the leaves we found.”  How great was that!  They were excited about learning about leaves!  The study will continue as we slowly transition into the study of New England Animals in Winter.