Storytime: Autumn Leaves

Bonus storytime today! This storytime was for toddlers and their caregivers at my library. I don't normally do Toddler Time, but my coworker was out so I got to sub-in! I followed her plan, so credit is hers.

Read Aloud Books

What's in a Tree?Written by Tracy Nelson Maurer

Who sings tweet tweet? Who hunts with a "hoo hoo"? Let's turn the page and find out! The kids loved this one. They were guessing all the answers left and right. The definitely know what's in a tree.

Fresh Fall LeavesWritten by Betsy Franco, illustrated by Shari Halpern

Jumping, raking, throwing--fresh fall leaves are so much fun. With simple text and illustrations, it was short enough to keep the attention of the kids and entertain them with thoughts of autumn.

Songs and Rhymes

Hello Song

Song: Leaves on the Trees

(Tune: London Bridges Falling Down)

Leaves on the trees turn orange and brown

orange and brown, orange and brown

Leaves on the trees turn orange and brown

in the fall!

Leaves on the trees come falling down...

Leaves on the ground go crunch, crunch, crunch...

Song: 10 Little Leaves

(Tune: 10 Little Indians)

1 little, 2 little, 3 little leaves

4 little, 5 little, 6 little leaves

7 little, 8 little, 9 little leaves

10 little leaves come floating down!

(Particularly fun when you have some leaves you can toss while you sing)

Goodbye Song

Games and Activities

Felt: Acorn where do you hide?

I hid the little acorn behind one of the leaves (without the kids seeing) and let them guess which leaf they thought was hiding it. Then we said this rhyme:

Acorn, acorn, where do you hide?

Are you under the _____ leaf? 

Let's peek inside!

Based on whichever color they chose. Then I pull that leaf off and--wrong?? We keep going until they find it.

Craft: Leaf rubbings

Picked some leaves from the yard, put the paper on top, and color to your hearts content. It was a little hard for the kids to keep the paper and leaf still while they colored, but I think they still had a lot of fun.

Activity: Raking leaves

There's little wooden rakes and shovels in there. Basically, I threw in some "grass" (we already had it on hand, but could be like Easter basket stuff?) and some leaves for the kids to have fun raking. The were scooping, mixing, and having all sorts of fun.

Other Book Ideas

Red Leaf, Yellow LeafWritten and illustrated by Lois Ehlert

Fletcher and the Falling LeavesWritten by Julia Rawlinson, illustrated by Tiphanie Beeke

Let It FallWritten and illustrated by Maryann Cocca-Leffler

Five Little Monkeys Sitting in a TreeWritten and illustrated by Eileen Christelow