Pumpkins! Book List

Pumpkin book list.  I haven't yet marked which ones are available at the local libraries.  

Duck and Goose Find a Pumpkin by Tad Kills
Its the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown
Pumpkin Day, Pumpkin Night by Anne F Rockwell
Its Pumpkin Time! by Zoe Hall
Five Little Pumpkins (several versions out there)
Where's Baby's Pumpkin by Karen Katz
The Runaway Pumpkin by Kevin Lewis
Oh My, Pumpkin Pie by Charles Ghigna
The Perfect Pumpkin (My Little Ponies)
Mouskin's Golden House by Edna Miller

Pumpkin Pumpkin by Jeanne Titherington
Pumpkins by Ken Robbins
Big Pumpkin by Eric Silverman
From Seed to Pumpkin by Wendy Pfeffer
The Very Best Pumpkin by Mark Kimball Moulton
Seed, Sprout, Pumpkin, Pie by  Jill Esbaum
Pumpkin Jack by Will Hubbell
Pinkalious and the Pink Pumpkin by Victoria Kann
Apples and Pumpkind by Anne Rockwell
I Love You, Little Pumpkin by Sandra Magsamen
This is NOT a Pumpkin by Bob Staake
Pumpkin Eye by Denise Fleming
Biscuit Visits the Pumpkin Patch by Alyssa Satin Capulcilli






Other Halloween Titles:
My First Halloween by DK Publishers
Max's Halloween by Rosemary Wells
Maisy's Halloween by Lucy Cousins
Halloween Mice by Bethany Roberts
Halloween Faces by Nancy Davis
Halloween Monster by Catherine Stock
Halloween Day by Anne F. Rockwell
Dinosaurs' Halloween by Liza Donnelly
By the Light of the Halloween Moon by Caroline Stutson
What's in the Witch's Kitchen by Nick Sharratt
Three Little Ghosties by Pippa Goodhart
One Witch by Laura Leuck
Goodnight Goon: A Petrifying Parody by Michael Rex
Trick or Treat by Melanie Walsh
No Zombies Allowed by Matt Novak
There Was an Old Monster by Rebecca Emberly
Go Away Big Green Monster by Rebecca Emberly

Halloween Picture Books

Found this cool Pinterest pin with many great Halloween titles!

Halloween Books For Kids -

More Apples from Pinterest

Collection of Apples Activities including Apple Printable Packet

Trees Book List

This list is what I could come up with from what my family has read, what was highly rated on Amazon, and the books Cherie brought with her at our two sessions. 

You can search both libraries for books titled "Trees" and "Leaves" and find many non-fiction texts what would be nice for just looking at the pictures and discussing what you see. 

Bold = available at Auburn Library
Italics = available at Lewiston Library

Trees:
Sky Tree by Thomas Locker
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstien
Franklin Plants a Tree by Paulette Bouregois
A Tree is Nice by Janice May Udry (Caldecott Medal)
A Grand Old Tree by Mary Newell DePalma
Be a Friend to Trees by Patricia Lauber
Outside and Inside Trees by Sandra Markle
Have You Seen Trees by Joanne F Oppenhiem

Leaves:
Fletcher and the Falling Leaves by Julia Rawlinson
Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Elhert
Leaf Man by Lois Elhert
The Fall Leaf Project by Margeret McNamara
The Little Yellow Leaf by Carin Berger
Eye Like Nature: Leaves by H.P. Wood
Leaves by David Ezra Stein
Leaves Fall Down by Lisa Bullard
Fresh Fall Leaves by Betsy Franco
The Fall of Freddie the Leaf by Leo F. Buscaglia (Careful, this one is in the special section about death)

Why Do Leaves Change Color by Betsy Maestro
We're Going on a Leaf Hunt by Steve Metzger
Look what I Did with a Leaf! by Morteza E. Sohi
Ruby's Falling Leaves by Rosemary Wells
I am a Leaf by Jean Marzollo
Leaves! Leaves! Leaves! by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace

Related topics: Fall, Seasons, Seeds

Reflection 10/3 (by Jacky)

This reflection is really about Natalie and I than how the day went.   I really liked our schedule today.  I felt the pacing worked much better.  The problems we had today had to do with Natalie and me, not the activities or setting. 

First of all, I have to commend William's patience today.  He played independently very well and allowed the other moms to help him do his craft and clean him up.  He didn't cry when I left the room. 

I walked away from today with a deeper understanding of how Natalie and I don't work well together when we are frustrated.  Something about doing the crafts is frustrating her, and I'm not helping. 

I think I'm bringing too much baggage to the situation.  I'm worried about her inability to use the scissors because of how her arthritis used to effect her hands.  Even though she is symptom free right now, I'm always worried that her being behind or her stiffness returning.  Especially where it took us so long to diagnosis her JRA before, I worry that we will miss some early sign.  Whenever she gets especially emotional, I worry her pain is returning because that was how she was during those six months.  But, thinking about it now, the over the top emotions are probably more of her way of coping with stress than a reaction to just pain. 

I'm also left wondering why she isn't more involved.  She isn't doing things she normally can do at home, such as saying answers she knows or gluing and painting.  I'm unsure if it is needing time to warm up to the environment and exceptions or if she is a learner who needs more time to process before answering and trying things herself.  But this is not the Natalie I see at home or during free play. I think I have an unfair expectation of her.  Does she really even understand what school is?  Am I taking that for granted?  Because she is so bright and social, I think I just assumed that transitioning into a school structure wouldn't be too hard for her. 

It really irks me when she proclaims that she can't do something.  She is so smart and capable, I know she can accomplish pretty much anything with practice.  But when we introduce something new (scissors in this case, but it was the same with getting dressed and undressed) she gets so frustrated so quickly.  It grates on my nerves so fast and really blinds me from helping her, not that she will let me help her much when she gets so worked up.  

As she got more and more upset, I decided to remove her from the table.  If we were at home, it probably would have been a time out, but instead, I did something I read on an attachment parenting web site.  Even as she struggled, I hugged her and told her I was going to keep hugging her.  After a minute she calmed down and asked for Baby Kitty, then when I returned with her, she curled up in my lap for a few minutes.  Soon she was ready to go back and try again.  I am happy that I tried this and that it worked.  It just felt better to work it out this way since I didn't really want to punish her for her emotions, but needed her to calm down.  But I am still left concerned about her getting so worked up in the first place.

Overall, I worry about this behavior when she starts formal schooling.  She can't be breaking out into tears when she drops her glue cap like she did last week.  One of the major reasons I wanted to give this preschool a try was to see how she would react and to start working through this problem. 

I think Amanda's idea might be a good place to start.  She suggested that sometimes we work with children that aren't our own.  I like this idea for two reasons.  First of all, I am interested to see if the same behavior would appear if I wasn't the one directing Natalie.  Though I wonder if I was in the room if it would still occur anyway.  I think sometimes she deliberately acts up with Mike when I am in the next room to get me to pay attention to her again.  I really think me getting away from the kids more often is causing this.  Anyway, the second reason I like this suggestion is so that sometimes I could focus on William.  I'd really like to work more with him, especially showing him things like shapes and colors and using parallel speach, but Natalie's needs so often intrude. 

Apples 10/3/12 Schedule (by Cherie)

MMM Schedule for 10/3/12

10:00-Morning Centers (snack, play dough, books, free play, baby play) Children will rotate and move through centers with their own choosing and pace and with guidance from Mom.
Snack-Children can enjoy a themed snack. Having children enjoy their snack as a rotating center will save us time and table space. Plus, I can have it on the table ready to go first thing without worrying about preparing it during learning time.
Play Dough- Working with mediums like play dough helps with building those important muscles in the hands and fingers that help with fine motor tasks, such as holding a pencil and scissors.
Books- Hold your child in your lap and offer to read a story to them. Point to pictures and ask them questions about the pictures or provide your own background knowledge and insights to the story. Example..."Remember when we saw or we did....." Children may also choose to look at books by themselves.
Baby Play- The baby play center is a sensory center that allows babies to use their senses to explore a baby-safe activity. I will post the activity online for viewing.

10:30- Morning Circle- Morning circle is a time to greet one another and to recognize the presence and importance of each child. During morning circle we will: sing the good morning song, sign the alphabet, discuss the color and animal of the day, sing a theme based song and review important concepts that we are learning.

10:40- Shake out the Wiggles and Dance to a Song or Two. I have the Jack Hartmann collection that we can begin. We'll gather back into our circle with Ring Around the Rosie.

10:50- Arts & Crafts & Science Exploration Demonstration (The arts & crafts project will begin with a guided step-by step process. Once the child is working on their project, the steps should be repeated to the child from Mom or other helping adult. It will be easier if the materials stay limited to the child on a as-needed basis. For example, take out the crayons, when needed, Take out the glue only when needed and then put away. Take out only the scissors when needed and then put away. Keeping only the materials needed during each step of the project will cut down on 'art material clutter and help the child stay on task. Materials will be kept on the counter, so that adults can take what's needed at the appropriate time.

11:00- Arts and Crafts & Science Exploration Centers
The group will be split up into 2 groups. 1/2 the group will begin their arts & crafts center that was demonstrated.
The other half of the group will engage in a science exploration that was demonstrated.
Both activities will be posted online before Wednesday so that Moms will have a complete understanding of the activities they are expected to guide their child through. Children can begin Free Play/Free Choice Time when they have visited both centers.

11:30- Free Play/ Free Choice- Hopefully we will get to go outside and play today! (Moms can choose to lead a group game for those children wanting to do so, such as duck, duck goose or red light-green light.)

11:50-Closing Circle-We'll end with a story and the good bye song. Children will add a sticker to their attendance chart before they leave.