Fall Theme Ideas

Fall, Seasons, Harvest Moons, Harvest Agriculture / Farming / Farms, Photosynthesis and leaves that change colors (don’t get too technical just let them know that leaves need to eat too!).

Look for shows on your child’s favorite channel such as PBS, Disney, NickJr., and Noggin about Fall, Autumn, Halloween, and Harvest time. Oobi, Blue’s Clues, Little Bear, Franklin and others all have Halloween episodes as well as good general autumn episodes.

Acorn Naturalists website has great books with real photos, dvds, and videos about all things in nature. Check out their website at www.acornnaturalists.com

Embracing the Child also has great resources for Fall, Nature, and Seeds. Check out their website at www.embracingthechild.org?They have wonderful books, links, and science and math sections. HUGE resource for families, teachers, etc…

Pooh’s Heffalump Halloween Movie (2005)

It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966)

Blue’s Clues What is Blue Afraid of? (available on itunes as a download)

Suggested Fall Books
Five Little Pumpkins

Mouse’s First Halloween

Max’s Halloween

Tom Arma’s Halloween Treats:A Touch and Feel Book

The Little Pumpkin Book

The Littlest Pumpkin

Autumn Leaves

Clifford’s 1^st Autumn

How Do You Know It’s Fall?

The Pumpkin Patch

From Seed to Pumpkin

Big Farm Machines

Animals in the Fall

Apples

Apples to Applesauce

Cranberries

Blue’s Halloween Hide and Seek

Why Do Leaves Change Color?

From Acorn to Oak Tree

Picking Apples and Pumpkins

Watching the Seasons

Bats (Scholastic)

I Spy a Pumpkin

Boo Who—Halloween Knock Knock Jokes (great for AAC users)

Cheerios Halloween Play Book

The Tiniest Pumpkin (great list of all words used in the book, nice for AAC users to make sure all the vocabulary is in their device)

Touch and Feel Halloween Dorling Kindersley

Bat Jamboree

Spiders (any real photo book)

Insects (any real photo book)

Farm Books:

The Grumpy Morning

Big Red Barn

Maisy’s Morning on the Farm

Blue Skiddos to the Farm

Watch Me Grow Farm Animals

On the Farm A First Look at Animals

Farm (DK Picture Stickers)

Fantastic Farm Machines

Eyewitness Farm (nice pictures—very wordy)

Life on a Crop Farm (all Life on a… books are a bit wordy but great photos and explains a lot to the family who’s never been to a farm!).

Life on a Chicken Farm

Life on a Goat Farm

Life on an Apple Orchard

Life on a Pig Farm

Life on a Sheep Farm

Life on a Cattle Farm

Visit fall festivals or plan a special trip. Don’t forget to plan and practice with your child about what they may see or hear or smell.

Visit an Apple Orchard and pick apples to be used in the recipes below.

Visit a Pumpkin Patch and pick out your pumpkin and squash.

Go on a nature walk or visit a nature center. Pick up acorns, pinecones, and leaves.

**For Augmentative Communication users, please make sure all the ingredients are listed as part of the child’s vocabulary as well as, all the measuring terms (pinch, cup, tablespoon, etc…)

Ingredients:

1 quart cider

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 tablespoon whole cloves

1 cinnamon stick

1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Mix together ingredients and simmer for about 20-30 minutes.Your house will smell great! (Make sure that your child can handle that kind of smell and is not overwhelmed by it).

Ingredients:

2 Cups Pancake Mix

1 Cup Water

1 Cup Chunky Applesauce

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat griddle or skillet to 375 degrees. Combine pancake mix, water, applesauce, and cinnamon. Coat the skillet lightly with vegetable oil. Pour approx. 1/4 cup batter on to the skillet. Cook each pancake for about 1 minute until edges begin to bubble then turn over for another minute. Makes approx. 12 apple pancakes.

Ingredients:

4 cups quick cooking oats

2 cups all purpose flour

2 cups whole-wheat flour

1 cup non-fat dairy milk

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoons salt

3 tablespoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions:

Combine all Ingredients, stir, and mix well. In a medium bowl, beat 2 eggs. Beat in 1/3 cup vegetable oil gradually. Alternately, beat in 2 cups pancake mix and 1 cup water. Only using 2-3 tablespoons of mix for each pancake, pour onto lightly greased griddle. Cook until edges bubble and flip, and then cook other side for 2-3 minutes or until brown. Makes approx. 12 pancakes.

Ingredients:

6 quarts popped popcorn

1 cup butter

2 cups firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup corn syrup light or dark

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Spray large roasting pan with vegetable cooking spray. Pour popcorn into pan. In another pan, melt the butter, stir in brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Bring that to a boil but do NOT stir for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda and vanilla. Slowly pour the syrup mix over the popcorn, stirring the popcorn as you go to blend it all in. Bake for 1 hour but remember to stir every 10 minutes. Remove from oven, cool, and then break it apart.

Ingredients:

9-10 cups popcorn popped

2 cups graham cracker cereal

1 1/2 cups marshmallows

1/4 cup melted butter

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Combine popcorn, graham cracker cereal, and marshmallows in large roasting pan. Mix well. Combine other ingredients in another bowl and mix well. Add to popcorn mix. Bake 20 minutes and stir once at around 10 minutes. Remove and cool. Store in bags. Makes about 12 cups.

Ingredients:

4 whole graham crackers

1 milk chocolate candy bar (1?1/2 ounces)

4 large marshmallows

Directions:

Break graham cracker in half. Break candy bar into four pieces. Layer graham cracker with chocolate piece and then marshmallow. Repeat with the other pieces. Put on a paper towel and heat in microwave on high for 10-15 seconds or until marshmallows puff out. Layer another graham cracker on top of marshmallow and squish down. Let cool.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup honey

1 1/2 cups crispy rice cereal

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup candy or sprinkles

Directions: