September 2026 Teaching Resource
Building Community, Exploring Ourselves, and Discovering Early Fall
Week 1: Welcome, Routines, and Our Classroom
- Language: Invite children to learn and use classmates' and teachers' names.
- Social emotional: Practice arrival, goodbye, handwashing, cleanup, and transition routines through play.
- Art: Create a classroom community collage using children's marks, photos, or drawings.
- Math: Count children during routines and compare small groups.
- Movement: Follow simple movement cues such as stop, go, slow, and fast.
Week 2: Me, My Family, and My Feelings
- Language: Talk about family members, familiar people, and things children enjoy.
- Social emotional: Name basic feelings and model safe ways to express them.
- Sensory: Provide mirrors and sensory materials for exploring facial expressions and textures.
- Art: Invite self portraits using crayons, paint, collage pieces, or natural materials.
- Books: Choose stories that reflect children's families and experiences.
Week 3: Friendship, Senses, and Discovery
- Social emotional: Practice gentle greetings, turn taking, helping, and noticing a friend's feelings.
- Science: Explore sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste with safe classroom materials.
- Language: Use descriptive words such as soft, rough, loud, quiet, warm, and cool.
- Music: Explore instruments, rhythm, and call and response.
- Dramatic play: Create a home or classroom space where children can practice caring roles.
Week 4: Early Fall, Leaves, and Apples
- Nature: Observe leaves, trees, weather, light, and other visible changes outdoors.
- Science: Investigate an apple using sight, smell, touch, and taste when appropriate.
- Math: Sort leaves or classroom objects by color, size, shape, or texture.
- Art: Make leaf prints or rubbings with close adult supervision.
- Movement: Move like falling leaves, growing trees, or rolling apples.
Family Connection
Invite families to notice one early fall change together. Children can collect or observe a leaf, talk about its color and texture, and share what they noticed when they return to the classroom.
Materials
Books, family photos, mirrors, crayons, washable paint, paper, natural objects, leaves, apples, baskets, sorting containers, rhythm instruments, and sensory materials appropriate for the children.
Teacher Observation
Watch for children's communication, participation in routines, peer interactions, emerging vocabulary, problem solving, sensory exploration, and growing independence. Record authentic examples rather than relying only on completed products.
Adaptation
Offer multiple ways to participate. Use visual cues, gestures, simplified language, adaptive tools, quiet spaces, and additional time when needed. Follow each child's individual interests and developmental needs.