The Whimsical Classroom: Autumn Picture Books: bringing Autumn into your teaching space

Little leaves fall gently down,

Red and yellow, orange and brown.

Whirling whirling round and round,

Quietly without a sound.

Falling softly to the ground,

Down and down and down and down.

(sing the above verse while children play in the leaves and twirl and spin to the ground!)

There is something so beautiful about bringing the outside into our teaching spaces. It feels natural as we align our teaching and lessons to what we are witnessing outside. It brings about a wonderful connection for our little ones...and for us as well!

Adding a book or two to your fall book collection each year or visiting your local library and selecting books about autumn is also a special way for young ones to learn and connect more to the current season. We keep these books out all season long and enjoy them throughout the day, but especially for nap and bedtime. In my classroom, I love to fill my bookshelves and displays with seasonal books! The children are always drawn to them and nothing fills my heart more than watching them race to look at their favorite books when they've finished their work!

*It's been such a great practice to store our seasonal books after each season ends. When we pull out the next books for the new season, it brings about such an excitement- like we are seeing the books for the first time! The kids spend hours remembering and looking through their favorites that have been tucked away for so long.

I'm excited to share some specific lessons I did this year with my first graders surrounding some of these beautiful picture books. But for now, here are some perfect autumn stories to enjoy in your home or classroom.