Guely and the Great Leaf Day Learning in the backyard.

IN THIS ISSUE

We will talk about Celebrating the Beauty of Fall

Autumn brings a vibrant display of fallen leaves—and with it, a perfect opportunity to inspire learning. This season offers rich, hands-on experiences that spark curiosity and creativity in young children.

Teaching Through Play

We’ll share tips on how to turn content into playful, interactive experiences. Whether you're in a classroom or at home, discover how to make lessons engaging and fun using the magic of fall.

A beauty

too in

fallen

leaves

By Jean Rattigan Rohr

It’s fall—a wonderful time of year to teach young children reading, writing, science, engineering, and math. You might be wondering: why would an educator say something like that?

Let me tell you.

I was watching the leaves fall like snowflakes in my backyard, which is filled with oak and maple trees. I wasn’t alone. Sitting beside me in his wheelchair was my great-grandson Miguel - though we all call him Guely.

As the wind shifted from feisty gusts to gentle puffs, the leaves danced together, changing direction as if guided by an invisible conductor. I could tell Guely was just as mesmerized. Suddenly, he exclaimed, “Wow, Nana, can we go outside in the leaves?” Honestly, I was just thinking the same thing.

So, as you can imagine, I needed no prompting. We were through the back door and onto the backyard bench in seconds, enjoying the musical descent of the leaves. Some floated down like smooth legato notes, others twirled like swift staccato beats. That’s when my teacher instinct kicked in—right alongside my great grandmother instinct—and I picked up an oak leaf to begin an impromptu outdoor preschool lesson.

You’d be surprised how much you can teach with fallen leaves

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What Did We Learn?

• Colors, shapes, textures, and patterns — We explored and compared leaves, sparking lessons in reading, critical thinking, engineering, math, and science.

• Storytelling and humor — We imagined what might happen to the leaves and joked about the “cold, trembling trees.” (Reading)

• Curiosity and questioning — We asked each other things like, “Why do you think this leaf is crunchier than that one?” (Language Arts)

• Engineering — We built leaf houses for birds.

• Science — We tested the durability of our leaf houses by tossing sticks at them.

• Math — We lined up similar leaves and counted from 1 to 20.

• Quantitative reasoning — We matched leaves and colors to understand number relationships.

• Comparative analysis — We asked whether the oak leaves outnumbered the maple leaves

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So, to all the parents and educators out there: these are just a few of the many joyful ways to teach and learn with 4- and 5-year-olds. Nature is a classroom waiting to be explored.

Stay tuned for the second book in the series: Guely and the Great Leaf Day, inspired by Guely’s desire to play among the leaves

Guely enjoying the fall leaves in my backyard.