October is one of my favorite months of the year, and it is a truly beautiful time in Northeast Missouri. When we arrived, almost a year ago, we were greeted by the peak fall foliage; it’s such a treat to see the leaves move through this transition now. With so much happening outdoors, my emphasis on our kindergarten homeschooling experience this month is one of connecting with nature and its beauty and bounty. So we’re processing apples, collecting native persimmons, eating autumn olives, taking walks in the woods to collect hickory nuts and acorns, delivering pumpkins to neighbors, and dyeing silk scarves with natural materials: black walnut, goldenrod, and pokeberry.
This month, I’m focusing on a few simple themes: apples, leaves, and pumpkins/Halloween. I’m trying to really keep it simple, as we have so much going on with the house-building. I don’t have an indoor space for elaborate crafts, rather, our designated school time consists of a short circle, a story, and a short activity.
At our homeschooling co-op, I’ve shifted to an October circle, which I will share below. I brought in a few new songs about pumpkins and nuts, and repeat most of September’s circle for consistency. We had a great time last week with this circle!
(My sources are primarily the Enki kindergarten curriculum, Joyful Movement by Donna Simmons, the wonderful CD Come Follow Me, and songs that I learned when I was a kid!)
October Circle
(themes: apples, nuts, pumpkins, Halloween)
Opening
Good morning dear Earth, good morning dear Sun
Good morning dear stones, and the plants every one.
Good morning dear animals, and the birds in the trees
Good morning to you, and good morning to me!
Verse
The Earth stands firm beneath my feet
The Sun shines high above
And here I stand, so straight and tall
All things to know and love
Active Song (sung to the tune of London Bridge)
Autumn leaves are falling down, falling down, falling down,
Autumn leaves are falling down welcome Autumn.
They are yellow, red and brown, red and brown, red and brown,
They are yellow, red and brown, Welcome Autumn!
Sweep the leaves and put them here, put them put here, put them here,
Sweep the leaves and put them here, welcome Autumn.
Jump right in and have some fun, have some fun, have some fun,
Jump right in and have some fun-welcome Autumn.
Verse with movement
Here stands the apple tree, strong and green
Here are the apples that hang between
A strong wind blows and knocks them to the ground
Here is the basket to take them all to town
Song
Way up high in the apple tree
Two little apples smiled at me
I shook that tree as hard as I could
and down came the apples
Mmm, they were good!
Active Song
A basket full of nuts I gather from my Hickory nut tree
And I am going home and I am taking them with me
Tra la la tra la la tra la la la la la la
Tra la la tra la la tra la la la la la la
Song
Jack o’Lantern, jack o’lantern you are such a pretty sight
As you sit there in the window, looking out at the night
First you were a yellow pumpkin, growing on a sturdy vine
Now you are a jack o’lantern, see the candlelight shine!
Fingerplay
5 Little Pumpkins sitting on the gate
The first one says Oh my it’s getting late!
The second one says there’s a chill in the air
The third one says I don’t care!
The fourth one says let’s run and run!
The fifth one says I’m ready for some fun!
Then woosh went the wind and out went the lights
And the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight.
Wonderful, so useful and so incredibly important for those that can’t get some apps, I would love more for every month. This is the best!!!!!!!