How Toddlers (Two Year Olds) Learn About Fall: November Classroom Themes

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Children in 45 Creche (1.5s-2s) sat as a whole group to sing songs, using fall props such as pumpkins and leaves.

At The International Preschools, play-based learning is used to help students acquire a love of learning.  This week, we will take a look at how our youngest students in the Crèche (1.5-2-year olds) and Red Rooms (2-year olds) explore the season of fall via thematic units and play-based learning.

Children at 45th Street learn about the inside and outside of a pumpkin by observing its seeds. They also learned a new vocabulary word - jack o'lantern - which is a pumpkin that has a face!
45th Street children learned about the inside and outside of a pumpkin by observing its seeds. They also learned a new vocabulary word – jack o’lantern – which is a pumpkin that has a face!

Songs and books are an effective way to explore classroom themes and expose young children to new vocabulary. The classes at 76th Street used real pumpkins to act out the story of the “five little pumpkins.”  Here, the children practiced counting with correspondence and provided another visual cue for storytelling.  Some fall books that were read in the classrooms were Find a Pumpkin by Tad Hills, Five Little Pumpkins by Iris Von Rynback, Apples and Pumpkins by Anne Rockwell, and Clifford’s First Halloween by Norman Bridwell.

Children in the Red Room (2s) at our 86th Street location participate in a Halloween costume show and share.
At 86th Street, children participated in a Halloween costume “show and share.” Each child identified his/her costume verbally, which provided an opportunity to practice speaking in front of a group.
A 2s class at 76th Street worked collaboratively to create a fall mural using fall-themed colors: red, orange, and yellow.
A 2s class at 76th Street worked collaboratively on  a mural using fall-themed colors: red, orange, and yellow. Color-themed learning provides an easy way for children to identify seasons (i.e. red, yellow, orange in fall; white in the winter; green and blue in the spring).

A recent article on Scholastic.com stated that “a strong home-school connection will set the stage for a child who will grow up with a love of learning.”  To encourage this, parents are invited into the classrooms to teach children about family and holiday traditions throughout the year.  In one classroom, students are participating in a “color show and share.”  Here, parents assist their child in finding the appropriately-hued clothing to match the color of the week.  The first three colors were chosen to enhance the fall theme:  red, yellow, and orange.

Next week, we will explore the fall units in the  Pre-Kindergarten (4 year olds) and Junior Kindergarten (4 and 5 year olds) classes.  To be continued…

Want to see how your child’s class is exploring the fall season?  Log into your parent dashboard by clicking here.

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