The first cool morning of October, I wrote the date on the chalkboard, added the verse underneath, and set a cup of four crayons in the middle of our big shared table. My five-year-old climbed onto his stool and said, "Those are the leaf colors." He was right, and that was the whole lesson plan.
I want to tell you how we use the Fall Colors: Leaves Are Falling All Around worksheet, because it is the plainest page in our fall stack, and I reach for it more than almost any other. It has a name and date line, four maple leaves to color, and the labels red, yellow, orange and brown. That is all it has. I have stopped apologizing for how little that is.
Why a simple page works so well with two ages
My boys are 3 and 5, and most mornings I am teaching both at once. A page with one clear job lets each of them do that job at his own level without me building two lessons. The three-year-old colors. The five-year-old colors, reads, and writes. Same leaves, same table, same quiet hum of crayons.
There is also something freeing about a page that does not ask for much. When the work is small, I can look up from my workstation in the corner and actually watch my boys instead of managing them. That is where the delight is.
How our fall leaves morning goes
- Start with the window, not the page. Before anyone holds a crayon, we look outside. "What colors do you see on the trees today?" The answers are rarely tidy, and I let them be.
- Put out only four crayons. Red, yellow, orange and brown, standing in a cup. Fewer choices means fewer decisions for a three-year-old, and he gets to feel like he picked.
- Read the labels together. I point to each word and say it. My five-year-old reads them back to me, and my three-year-old matches the crayon to the word by color.
- Let them color the leaves however they want. A purple maple leaf has never hurt anyone. I give one gentle nudge toward the fall colors, and then I stop talking.
- Finish with name and date. My five-year-old copies the date from the chalkboard. My three-year-old writes whatever mark he calls his name, and I write the real one beside it.
What each boy is really practicing
The five-year-old
He is working on reading color words and copying from the board. I do not quiz him. I say, "Which leaf do you want to make brown?" and he finds the word on the page to check. It is reading hidden inside coloring, which is my favorite kind.
The three-year-old
He is practicing grip, staying inside big shapes loosely, and naming colors out loud. If he does one leaf and wanders off to the reading nook, we call that a good morning. We can come back to the other three after lunch or tomorrow. A single page can stretch over a few days, and no one has to finish it in one sitting.
One thing to say tomorrow morning
When your child holds up a finished leaf, resist "Good job." Try this instead: "Tell me about the colors you chose." You will learn more from his answer than from any worksheet, and he will feel seen. A three-year-old might say, "This one is the sun leaf." Write that on the back and tuck it in a basket. That is a record worth keeping.
If you teach at the kitchen table
For two years, this is exactly how we did it, at our kitchen table, before the classroom existed. If that is where you are, clear one end the night before, put the four crayons in a cup, and set the printed page at each child's spot. Nothing else needs to be there. A table is a real place to homeschool, and a quiet, ready one beats a fancy room every time. If you are dreaming about a dedicated space, I wrote about designing your homeschool classroom with that in mind.
Where we go next with the same colors
Once the four colors are fresh in their minds, the rest of our week leans on them. We take a walk and look for leaves in each color. Then the Fall Leaf Stamping Printable Activity Pack gives us a leaf tree, leaf animals and a leaf wreath to make with real leaves. When we want something to count and compare, the pumpkin size sort is a lovely follow-up, and for a silly end-of-week project, the cotton ball ghost craft is always a hit.
Every worksheet in the worksheet shop is $4.00, or $2.00 if you are a member. Joining is free, forever, and it gives you 50% off every worksheet plus 31 free printables, including the nature-walk basket list, which pairs nicely with a leaf morning. You will also find a free, moderated members' forum with a room for each season, if you want to compare notes with other mamas.
Let the season do some of the teaching
I used to think I had to add more to make a morning count. Now I think the trees are doing half the work. We color four leaves, we say four words, we thank God for the changing of the season, and we have learned something true. The leaves fall every year on schedule, and I find that comforting. We do not have to hurry what God has already set in order.
So print the page, fill the cup, and look out your window together. As it says in Ecclesiastes 3:1, "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven."
