Fall Centers
A few weeks ago, I wrote about how much I love a good theme for centers. I just added centers into my rotation and my students are loving it! All of my learners are emerging learners in a K-2 self-contained classroom. Fall is a great time to add centers into your day – there’s so much going on and the seasons are changing, so it’s easy to gather ideas and incorporate real world experiences into your centers. Plus, we start taking field trips. My students are visiting apple and pumpkin farms over the next few weeks. I’m wrapping all of those experiences into my center rotations. Here are some of my favorite centers we’ve done this past month.
Butcher Paper Activities
These are easy to set up, easy to run, and super engaging! Here’s how I ran my apple tree butcher paper center. All you need is butcher paper, dice, markers and dot stickers in red, yellow and green (optional).
- Cover a table with butcher paper or art paper on a roll (make friends with the art teacher if you haven’t already!) and tape it down. If you don’t have access to a roll of paper, you can give each student their own paper.
- Draw a simple tree (see photo)
- Have students roll the dice. Whatever number they land on is how many ‘apples’ or stickers they add to the tree. If you don’t have stickers, have students use markers to draw the apples.
For variety and more advanced social skills, you can make this a game and turn-taking activity. Have only one dice and pass it for turns. Set a timer for 5 minutes. The student with the most apples on their tree wins!
Apple Taste Testing
For this activity, my fantastic SLP and I teamed up to help students express what apples they liked the best. I have mostly emerging communicators who are using AAC for support. I made this little sheet for students to share and color in how they felt about each apple. You’ll often find that complex educational needs coexist with picky eating. This is for a variety of reasons, but I love exposing my students to new things in a safe way. We offered everyone a chance to try each apple. For some students trying means eating, and for others trying means touching or smelling. I had one student who simply sat at the table and said ‘no’ and for that student it was a huge win – trying means something different for everyone. My SLP was ready for the students who didn’t like apples and taught them to use the ‘yucky’ button on their aac and give a thumbs down. For those who liked the apples she taught students to use the ‘yummy’ button. Overall, it was a huge hit. Bonus? I cut the apple into 6 wedges, so I only needed 2 of each apple for my whole class.
Easy Matching Weekly Workbooks
You know I’m a huge sucker for Easy Matching Weekly Workbooks. I’m using the Fall, Farm, and Halloween books in my rotations for September and October. These are so simple to use and once they are prepped they are ready time and time again. My students love the bright pictures and engaging topics. The tasks are all simple matching and errorless tasks, so they are simple enough for my emerging learners.
Sensory Bin
We love a good sensory bin! This one helps students explore pumpkins (real ones) and jack-o-lanterns by pouring the dyed rice into clear containers. Scooping, pouring, touching, and imaginary play builds amazing skills in the classroom! Don’t be afraid to add sensory play and structured sensory time into your centers. In my classroom sensory time is highly preferred, so it’s always a center that students look forward to!
Experiences and Fun
With a little creativity, you can bring the real world to your classroom through centers. While these centers aren’t fully ‘academic’ yet, they will get there as the year progresses. We will slowly turn what we are experiencing outside of the classroom and use it to help us learn. With emerging learners, it’s important to take time to teach skills like turn taking, moving from center to center, leaving preferred activities (like a sensory bin) for less preferred activities, and transitioning skills. These skills will be crucial to know when we are ready for academic centers.
It’s also important for self-contained students to have fun and experience fun things while at school. Don’t be afraid to do a fall craft you saw and thought would be fun or take a nature walk with your class. These experiences are just as important as the academics we teach! In fact, sometimes our students learn more from those experiences than the academic lessons.
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