Fall
Background Information & Activities

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Remind your children that the year is divided into seasons, or periods of time that have similar weather patterns. Some tropical places have wet and dry seasons, but many temperate places go through spring, summer, winter, and fall. We recommend watching the Seasons movie together as a review. Autumn, or fall, is a season marked by warm days and cool nights. It is a time when food is abundant for many animals and when farmers harvest their crops before winter. There are several holidays that celebrate the harvest in the fall, including Thanksgiving. Fall is also a season when plants and animals go through changes to prepare for the winter.

Ask your children to describe the weather in the fall. Fall days can be warm, with cool breezes, and the nights can be chilly. Ask your children what kind of clothing they wear in the fall. Many people wear pants and light sweaters and jackets, depending on where they live. Fall days become shorter as winter approaches. Hurricanes are rainstorms with strong winds and they often come in the early fall. Severe hurricanes can cause flooding, when the ground is unable to absorb more water. It is important for your children to understand that weather varies in different places.

Remind your children that it takes about 365 days for Earth to go around the Sun, or one year. Earth is also tilted at an axis as it orbits the Sun. The planet’s tilt and orbit causes the seasons to change throughout the year. Help your children understand that different parts of the world go through seasons at different times. In the northern hemisphere, fall begins in late September and ends in late December. In the southern hemisphere, however, fall begins in March and ends in May.

Ask your children what they do during the fall. Most children go back to school. Many fruits and vegetables grow throughout the summer and by the time fall arrives they are ready to be harvested, or picked, before the winter. Many autumn holidays celebrate the harvest. The United States observes Thanksgiving in November. The holiday commemorates the feasts the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag people shared after they picked their crops. You can review the Thanksgiving movie for more information. Sukkot is an important Jewish holiday usually held in the fall. Family and friends gather to build a hut and then spend time together sharing food from the harvest. Many East Asians celebrate the Moon Festival, or Mid-Autumn Festival. This commemorates the end of the summer harvest and many families eat rice cakes and light lanterns to celebrate. In India and Nepal, many people celebrate Diwali, a holiday where people share food, light candles, and honor Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth and abundance. Fall holidays often bring people together to share food from the harvest and celebrate.

Fall is also a busy time for many plants and animals as they prepare for the cooler winter. Many animals use the fall to gather and store food for the winter. Hibernating animals, such as bats, hedgehogs and ground squirrels, eat in order to gain weight and live off their stored fat through the winter. Many animals grow thick layers of fat or grow thicker coats to prepare for the oncoming winter. Migrating animals, such as some birds, whales, and buffalo travel hundreds of miles to warmer places where food will be more readily available. Many plants begin to lose their leaves to save energy for the winter. The leaves of some trees change color before falling off. Remind your children that even though trees lose their leaves, they do not die. They are saving energy and will grow again once spring arrives

Learning about the fall season is a fantastic way to connect science to the world around them and make cultural connections. Have your children share what they do during fall and what changes they see around them.

Fall Teacher Activities – Click Here!

Fall Family Activities – Click Here!

Fall Teacher Activities

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Time of the Season

Have your students do a long-term plant study. Learn about different plants in your community. If possible, take a walk around the school together and have your students sketch or take photographs of a plant. Then have the students revisit the same area and examine their plant during different times of the year. How do the plants change? How do they stay the same? Have your students make presentations throughout the year to talk about how their plants adapt to different weather.

Harvest Holiday

Together, explore different harvest holidays that are celebrated around the world, such as Thanksgiving, Diwali, Sukkot, or the Moon Festival. Read books with your class about the different holidays and discuss how they are similar and different. Invite students to share their families’ fall traditions and to research other cultures and how they celebrate the harvest. Then design and create your own class’ harvest holiday and organize a celebration. You may want to invite family members and friends to share in the harvest.

Fall Family Activities

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Local Food

If possible, take your child to a local farm or a farmers' market in the fall. Explore different fruits and vegetables that are grown locally. Apples, pumpkins, and squash are common fall crops. Then have your child think about how apples are available in the market all year round. Where does he or she think the apples come from? You may want to visit a grocery store and examine stickers describing the countries of origin on different items. Remind your child that places go through different seasons at different times of the year. This is a good opportunity to discuss “food miles” and geography and talk about how far things travel to get to our local grocery store.

Leaf Collage

During the fall, challenge your child to find as many different leaves as possible. Remind your child not to touch leaves growing on trees, but instead look for them on the ground. How are the leaves alike? How are they different? What different fall colors can he or she find? Help your child make a collage and look up different trees that grow in your community.