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

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.

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.


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…
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