It's Autumntime & Autumn Day

Looking for one last fall singing time before delving into Christmas music?  Try this easy activity for learning these 2 fall songs...

I was at our local storytime when they passed out these leaves to all the kids which is where I got this idea from:

I knew they would work well with a few of our fall primary songs, It's Autumntime and/or Autumn Day.  The leaves are really simple to prepare - laminated leaf die-cuts with a hole punched into them and about a 8 inch string attached.

When we used them in storytime, each child got a leaf and held it by the string up high (while standing).  As we sung, the leaves started falling downward, in a back-and-forth motion.  We ended with the leaves resting on the ground.  The kids LOVED it!  What a great fall wiggle song!

To learn the words of the songs, you can do the following:

o   Write the words on the chalkboard before primary.  As you and the primary come up with actions, erase phrases as actions are learned.

o   Repeat having the kids mimic the actions while you sing, or while they listen to the songs on CD.

o   Sing each phrase to them while they echo it back while still mimicking your motions.  Then put it all together without the echoing.

o   Also ask questions as you sing each phrase:

For It's Autumntime:

vs. 1

• How many times did I sing "It's Autumntime?" [4]
• Where are the leaves falling? [down]
• Where is autumn all around? [the town]

vs. 2

• What color of leaves are mentioned? [yellow, red and brown]
• What can be found? [bright colors]
• This is such a beautiful time of year.  The things that make it so beautiful are the colorful autumn leaves falling.

For Autumn Day:

• Who should we not forget? [God, who gives]
• Each child should be happy with all that lives.  The song doesn't use the word happy.  What word do you hear? [glad]
• What does God give us when autumn comes our way? [richest gifts]
• If we look on every side, what will we see? [pleasant things for you and me]
• We sing six words that describe the apples.  What words do you hear? [red, yellow, round, juicy, sweet, mellow]
• Round, juicy apples load the trees until the trees do what? [bend over and their branches brush the clover - which is a type of green grass]

Download my To-Go Lesson Plan HERE which includes all of the above information.

**This could also be a fun activity to incorporate into Nursery!