What is Autumn?
I have put together a poster, at the top it says,
The Best Treats just below it, it says, better than.... Then I have
empty candy wrappers scattered on the poster. When the children choose a
wrapper there will be a song associated with some kind of "treat" that is
better than candy. For instance...when they choose licorice, the song is
"I Love to See the Holy Temple". Then I have the opportunity to tell
them what a blessing it is to have the blessings of the temple, it's a
treat, even better than candy. My thought process is that we will
emphasize the even better than candy phrase. Hopefully as they sort
through the treats they get with trick or treating, that phrase will come
to mind and they will be reminded of the temple, forever families,
scriptures, the priesthood, the plan of salvation etc. Just a thought, a
fun way to be reminded of the important things and not distract from the
spiritual as Halloween tends to do. (Idea by Jill / ga10232006)
Pumpkin bowling is fun. Set up some empty 2 liter
or 1 liter bottles with a little sand or water in the bottom for stability.
Write the song names on the bottom of the bottles. Or tape a cut out of a
pumpkin to the side of the bottle and write the name on the cut out. A small
round pumpkin takes the place of the bowling ball. (Obviously you want to
stress the importance of rolling "softly") If the child knocks down one pin
that is the song you sing. If they knock down a few they can choose between
the songs. But if the child bowls a strike they get to choose their favorite
song, instead of one from the bowling pin. Once a song is chosen I remove that
pin and only set up the pins with songs we have not sang yet. (Idea by Cindee
Alexander)
Pumpkin Racer is a good one too. And you can
re-use what you prepared for pumpkin bowling, plus you will need a Remote
Control Car. I used a small pumpkin and painted a face on it, then put it in
the car as the driver. Prepare the bottles as described above. Line up the
bottles in a straight line six inches apart (more depending on the size of
your RC car). The children try to drive the car straight though the course
without knocking over a pin. When a pin is knocked down, we find the song to
sing on the bottle. If they
are successful in driving through the course without an accident, they can
choose their favorite song to sing. (Idea by Cindee Alexander)
I
was just putting out my Halloween decorations, and I found something I forgot
all about. Last year, I think at JoAnn Fabrics, I bought a bag of silk leaves,
they are all the autumn colors, brown, yellow, gold, orange, red, a sneaky-up
of green, and a few different kinds (oak, maple, etc.) I think there must have
been like two hundred in the package! They are not
attached to any wire or stem or anything, just free floating leaves to throw
around. I am sure they were only a dollar or two. They would make a fun
singing time by just writing songs on a few and then throwing them all up into
the air toward the children. Then have the children help you clean them up and
see if they could find the songs. It would be fun to have someone "be the
tree". Standing in front of a fan the leaves could drop from their hands and
be caught by the wind and blow around the room. I think it would work
out very fun, lots of the kids could participate in the clean up, especially
if you splurged and got more than one package of leaves. It's a plan! (Idea by
Luana Willis)
Leaf Pattern
