The Seeds of Fall

Welcome Fall!

While many people think of the trees and leaves as dying right now, is death the right word to use to describe what is happening?  It's actually not. (Check out what I learned about this in Full of Fall on my last blog post.) Sure the leaves themselves die, but the tree doesn't.  And there's more than just the lose of leaves that's going on this time of year.  Think of all the seeds we see this time of year and what is happening to them. I love when I pick up a children's book and learn something new and I have two books that focus on seeds to share with you today.

Because of an Acorn

Written by Lola M Schaefer and Adam Schaefer

Illustrated by Frann Preston-Gannon

Along with leaves falling everywhere this time of year, there are acorns everywhere. I love listening to them fall down through the trees, and watching the chipmunks and squirrels scurry about gathering them.  I think that's one fall activity that is often overlooked so I love how this book brings this activity to mind.

Because of an Acorn is a fantastic, simple book about the circle of life.  I love that you can see and get a sense of the circle of life without it being too emotionally overwhelming for children.  I think the authors did a beautiful job of showing how each part of a forest ecosystem is connected.  That acorn grows into a tree, the tree houses all sorts of wildlife, and because of each one something else comes to live and grow.  Fran Preston-Gannon has done a wonderful job detailing each part that is  highlighted in the text and foreshadowing what will happen next.  The illustrations are full of color and dominate the pages.  I love how Fran has made sure to include so many other animals and parts of the forest that aren't in the text, you see a bear and cub they they aren't mentioned, but this shows so much more of the ecosystem and brings up more for conversation.

 The sequence of event is flawless! The lessons you can make off of this one simply written book are countless.  The dedication says, "For all the naturalists, young and old -L.M.S and A.S." and they are right, it's a book that as an adult I find beautiful but it's written on a level for children to understand.  Looking at this book as a teacher I can see lessons for preschoolers all the way up through biology class being tied into this book.

Lesson ideas from this book:

Study Acorns: Dissect one.

Who lives in a tree?  Who lives in the forest?

Circle of life.

What is an ecosystem?  Take it farther with notes from the afterword in Because of an Acorn and examine how that would effect the environment if one part of the system was changed (died off).

Do some Acorn Crafts for adults or kids (Thank you Pinterest!)

Some additional learning games for children:
Collect acorns or use some fake or wooden ones for counting, sorting, or markers for fall bingo

I know I have shared the Sneaky Snacky Squirrel game before, but our preschoolers really love this game and it goes so well with this book I have to share it again.  And check out the Acorn Soup game I found for children age 2:



A Seed Is Sleepy


Written by Dianna Hutts Aston
Illustrated by Sylvia Long

The very first thing to take me in with this book is the astounding detail in the illustrations!  Sylvia Long has done a fantastic job showing each seed, plant, the flowers, fruit, and leaves.  The colors are bold and brilliant and draw the reader in.

This book came highly recommended to me from a librarian who knows how much I love being outside and nature.  This is a book I get wrapped up in just studying it.  Each flower, and seed are labeled and the amount of information packed into this kids book really is amazing and makes it a book that any adult can pick up read and learn something new from.  We had lessons in science about the stages of seed growth in school, but I didn't learn the different parts of a seed.

Dianna has made a very diverse, non fictional book about seeds that's completely captivating.  I say diverse because there are (in my opinion) three different ways you can read it.  There is the main sentence "A seed is sleepy...A seed is..."  so if you have a group or a child with a shorter attention span you can just read it that way the build up to reading more in depth.  For my five year old daughter I read her the main sentence and the bold part that starts to explain what they mean by sleepy or thirsty.  Then there are longer paragraphs that go much farther in depth to talk about a certain seed which is really neat.

This is one book that isn't focused on fall.  It's a book you can read in the fall because many plants go to seed in the fall like the acorns falling or another way to look at it is that the seeds have grown and their fruit is ready or the seeds are ready to harvest.  This book would also be great to break out in the Spring  and read about seeds then and do your own grow kit.

No matter the season, I hope you take the time to look over both of these wonderful books and notice the small details in life.

Fun Fall Books

While I'm a warm weather person, I do love all that Autumn brings.  I love the fall foliage, pumpkin everything, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and I can still in the early half of the season enjoy all I love to do in the Summer as well.  The change of the seasons is magical.  Who, even as adults, doesn't enjoy looking at a landscape ablaze in colors?  For kids there are so many things to do and explore as the leaves fall and temperatures cool off, so to help you celebrate this season and have so much with activities to look forward to I've gathered a couple of fun Fall books.

Full Of Fall

by April Pully Sayre

This book is beautifully done. The vibrant cover photograph grabs your attention and pulls the reader right into the season.  I love April's use of alliteration throughout the book.  She is careful to not over do the alliteration but has rhymes mixed in and it's just a very simple yet eloquent way to say good-bye to summer and walk through fall foliage with children.  I love the vocabulary used!  This book while easy to keep the attention of very young kids I think it's a book that you can use for class with third graders still. It's a beautiful way to introduce talking about why leaves fall, why they change color and talk about what happens.  There's even a page that tells you about the parts of a leaf!  The book is educational but for all the lessons you can take from it, it's still a poetic and fun read.  This one is a must for the season for babies on up.

I love that April Pully Sayre has used photography instead of illustrations.  The images are vibrant, and as she says "Colors surge," though the entire book.  I love the crisp details!

At the end of the book there are two pages full of in depth information on why leaves are green, how they change colors, and a lot of science that is fascinating.  I learned more in those 2 pages then I did in school about this season.  For example did you know that while the leaves are changing color and dying they are actually still working for the tree?  They deconstruct chlorophyll and send back into the tree what nutrients the tree can reuse.

So while that book is more educational based but still simply fun to read my next two I'm sharing are books to help those who are just starting to read, Kindergartners, maybe some preschoolers who are doing sight words.

A Season of Sight Words "Fall"


Written by Shannon Penney
Illustrated by Lynne Avril

I did at one time 4 years ago have all 5 books, but now that my youngest is doing sight words in Kindergarten it seems that I'm missing 4 of them.  I'm tearing the house apart trying to find the others because she loves that she can read on her own to us now that she has a handful of sight words she knows.  Going on a Hayride is so far the only book in the set I can find and it's really great for those just starting to read.  This one focuses on the words "it," "yes," and "is."  These are very simple sentences of 3 to 5 words max, and that's throughout the set.  Each book in the set has it's own two main sight words that are in bold in the sentence and are repeated on each page so the child sees them, and reads them over and over to reinforce them in their memory.

The illustrations really brings the book together.  It is a picture book that you can see what is going on and that is key to helping children begin to use context clues in reading.

I think these are fun fall books because they have five favorite autumn activities: bonfires, hayrides, leaves, pumpkins, and football!  So for young children if you take one of these books to focus on each week you can talk all week about hayrides, have the child read the book each day and then on Friday (or if you're doing this at home) on the weekend go for a hayride and have your child tell you what they thought.  Have one week that's all pumpkin themed, and so on for each book.

Check out some of these sight word games you can add in as well:

Autumn Leaves Are Falling

Written by Maria Fleming
Illustrated by Melissa Sweet

This is another great beginning reader book.  It's a Level 1 aimed for preschool to first grade.  The sentences are simple, a step up from the Sight Word books but still very simple with a strong focus on those high frequency words.  You will see a lot of repetition still but with a bit more pages and words on each page.  As you can expect from the title the focus is on leaves falling and what you do with them.  You can start by asking your child what they think will happen in the book before you start reading.  It's great to have children predict what will happen, and start developing those hypothesis and context clues early on in reading so they will carry on as they grow.

A fun activity to do with this book would be to make your own leaf pile, have the kids help rake and jump in the leaves, then have them describe to you how they felt, and where were the leaves after jumping in.  As a child this was the highlight of the season was to see how big of a pile of leaves we could make.

My last book is just a funny picture book that is a blast to read aloud and I'm sure you can find so much to do with this from a preschool level up into intermediate school.

Fall Mixed Up

Written by Bob Raczka
Illustrated by Chad Cameron

This is a book that is sure to crack you up.  I dare you to try to read this with a straight face.  You won't be able to and the kid(s) you read to won't be able to keep from calling out that you're wrong about well everything mentioned in the book. It might take a minute...Are apples orange?  Wait a minute I know squirrels don't fly!  I love that Bob Raczka has taken all things having to do with Autumn and has twisted them around into a funny story that makes kids (and adults) think twice about what was just read and then picture this crazy alternative to how things really are.

Chad Cameron has done a great job on the illustrations in capturing fall as we know it and making this alternative world almost believable.  The illustrations are full of color and just as funny as the text.

There are so many fun activities you can do around Fall Mixed Up!  You can do the obvious and go through and point out all that is mixed up and tell what really happens for each.  Talk about what animals hibernate, and what other animals do instead?  Where does candy corn come from if it's not grown?  You can have your child(ren) do their own drawings of something crazy mixed up they think would be fun to see.

Ready for some more fall fun?  Check out some bucket list adventures you can do as a family:

80 ways to have Fall Family Fun

20 ideas for Toddlers this fall

Fall Bucket List 

I hope everyone gets out to enjoy the last couple summer days we have before Fall officially starts on Sunday! 

When I Grow Up

How many times over the years have you been asked that question?  It's format changes over the years the really it's the same question.  "What are your plans after graduation?" "All the kids are in school now what are you going to do with your day?"

I love asking my kids each year what they want to be when they grow up.  Why?  Because their answer changes almost each year.  Hey throughout my adult life my answers have changed several times as well, and that's okay!  It shows that you keep trying on new shoes until you find one that fits, and as you grow as a person you might outgrow that one shoe.  It's so much fun to look back on their responses over the years and your own as well.

One book that really brings this point of always growing and doing more than just one job is:
When I Grow Up


Written by Al Yankovic
Illustrated by Wes Hargis


I love the imagination in this book!
This little boy Billy is bursting at the seams to tell the class what he wants to be when he grows up.  He gets up and rattles off the best speech about becoming a world renowned chef!  Now that one passage is great but when the teacher calls the next kid, Billy quickly lets her know he's not even close to done.  He proceeds to list off several other creative jobs from gorilla masseuse to TV repairman to snail trainer.  As you can imagine not all the jobs on there are "real" jobs, and the teacher is getting tired of his list so she finally ask him to pick one.  His response to her is simply brilliant!   He tells how many jobs his great-grandfather had and still doesn't know what he wants to be, and then goes on to say that if he leaves his options open, he could do all of those crazy things and more.  On the very last page Billy pictures himself as a teacher.

There is so much to love in this book!  The story-line is fantastic and really makes you question why do we say you can only become one thing?  It lets you know not to put weight on your child when they say they want to become a famous football player, that can change several times, maybe they will become that but let them explore all that interest them.
Al Yankovic has an imagination that is up there with Dr. Seuss!  I love how creative and out of the ordinary the jobs were.  I love that he made the mundane sound fun.  The rich vocabulary in this makes it a book that several grade levels should be reading to enhance their English Language Arts class.  Look at this sentence which is a paragraph:

"Or else maybe I'll be the lathe operator who makes the hydraulic torque wrench calibrator which fine-tunes the wrench that's specifically made to retighten the nuts on the lateral blade that's directly beneath the main radial sockets inside cooling systems on X-14 rockets - and since this profession's as cool as can be, well, who would be better to do it than me?"

Wow!  Take a moment to look at all the vocab words that can be gone over:

• lathe
• hydraulic
• torque
• calibrator
• specifically 
• lateral
• radial
• sockets

This is just off of one page!  Those are some big words for a book that's aimed for 4-8 year olds!  Please go ask a 13 year old to tell you what a hydraulic is and to explain a cooling system.  Now looking at the parts of a sentence I'm sure my 7th grade grammar teacher would have loved to have us diagram this.  

If you are a teacher and asking your class "What do you want to be when you grow up?" I would suggest using this book one day that week and having an "crazy jobs" and encourage your children to think outside the box, what type of crazy job would they want?  When my family went to an amusement park this summer we had fun asking what job they thought was the best or they'd want to have if they worked there.  My oldest got really excited over maybe when she turns 16 she could get a summer job there.  She thought cooking the food would be the best.

Adults, this gives you a chance to talk about all the different jobs you've had since childhood.  Share them with your kids, share your dreams and goals.  If you're still figuring out what you want to be, that's perfectly fine!  There are many of us who are still figuring that out or want to be so many things.  Are you ever just one thing?  I know I'm not.  I'm a full time Mom, full time teacher to my one daughter who is doing cyber school now, and an aspiring writer.  I'm also suppose to be a part time substitute teacher but still trying to figure out how to fit that in and I'm not sure I can.

Go read this wonderful book.  Laugh, Think, Dream, and Talk!


Another book I love and recently bought is Girls A-Z


Written by Eve Bunting
Illustrated by Suzanne Bloom

As stated in the title, this book is only about girls.  It's a very powerful, early feminist book that shows how women can do whatever they can dream up.  I think it's a wonderful book for any daughter and that's why I bought it and put it in my collection for my girls.

With the question we've been asking this post, this book dives into not only "girl" jobs, but all jobs that girls can dream of.  Sure there's a ballerina (which this year is what my youngest wants to be) but there's also an engineer, and race car driver.  Our jobs are not segregated by sex, and we shouldn't tell our kids that just because they are a boy or girl that they can't do a job.  My oldest wants to be a tattoo artist (this is not listed in the book) but my point is that that use to be a male dominated field, there are many talented women tattoo artist today.  I think that would be amazing to see her to aspire to be the next Kat Von D.  Go check out this article about Ten extraordinary women in male dominated fields

As you can gather from the title it is one of the books that walk you through the alphabet.  What I love about this is how Eve Bunting found not only a unique girls name for each letter but a profession for each as well.  Personally I love that stay at home mom was included in the list of professions because this is often over looked, or dismissed when really it's a full time job that we don't get a break from.

Aside from all the jobs what really makes this book great (for me) are Suzanne Bloom's colorful illustrations.  I love how she didn't make the illustrations adults doing these jobs, but she drew these little girls doing the things they are interested in.  It's so cute and relateable for kids.  The dentist for the letter D, this little girl has her stuffed animal in a high chair with his mouth open and toothbrush in hand.  This is how children act out jobs they find interesting.  My tattoo artist, not only draws on paper but loves to use washable markers to give "real" tattoos!  I think the imagination and spirit of these girls are captured in Suzanne Bloom's illustrations.  They are contagious!  Each child looks like they are having so much fun and their personality shines through.  Look at the images and see if you can see your child in any of them.


The last book I have for you is aimed more at the preschool group but I love how this book was composed.
Think Big


Written by Liz Garton Scanlon
Illustrated by Vanessa Brantley Newton

While reading this you have to not only read the words but make sure you and your child study the pictures because unlike the other two books I shared with you this one doesn't outright say what the job is.  You see children painting, dancing, playing instruments, and sewing, and the only words that go with it are simple "Thick paint" "Spin, twirl".   It's not until the end that this story really comes together and you see what all these kids have been working on is a performance of what they want to be when they grow up.  It's really cute.  The art work is fun, colorful and entertaining.

I love how you can ask children what they are doing and have them describe what they see.  Then use this to have them tell you what they like to do and what they can do with that skill.  "I like to color, I can become an illustrator!"  Or after you finish the book go back and talk about what each skill they are showing can be applied to jobs.


For some fun at home, or in the classroom check out these kits and supplies to help your child pretend and imagine doing their dream job.