October Activities For Kindergarten and First Grade

October activities are in the air!!! My favorite part about October is that students are starting to understand expectations in school and a rhythm is beginning to form. Notice that I said beginning? I didn’t say perfected (that comes in June..haha..just kidding). Do you know what else is beginning? OCTOBER!!!

It’s early in October and maybe you are ALL planned and ready to teach – for the WHOLE MONTH. If you are, carry on and I’ll see you in November. If not, read on……there are SOOOO many engaging activities you can add into your routines and lessons!

Secret Tip: If you are all planned out for the month you might even be able to ADD a few of these ideas into your already existing plans!

Fire Safety

Some of the best October activities include fire safety ideas. Fire drill practice was never my favorite time of the month. Since they are part of a teacher’s life it is best to also include some activities to make it engaging for the kids. The following activities are great for centers. Add them to the Writing Center and it’s done for the week (or even the whole month). There are three resources in ONE place. There is a Writing Center, Write the Room and Fine Motor. Have FUN!

Secret Tip: Put all three in the writing center at the same time and give them choices of what to do first. Check out this blogpost about Center Routines if you are wondering how I run centers.

Some of my favorite October activities includes music. Here is an October Song Bundle that includes a fire safety song. The song Leaf Pile is FREE so you can check it out and see if my music and activities are the perfect fit for your classroom!

I can’t forget the most important part!!! Teaching Informational Writing through themes. You will LOVE teaching informational writing through my PowerPoints and differentiated activities that support your teaching.

Pumpkins

It’s time to go to the Pumpkin Patch!!!! Or at least learn about them…..Here are some engaging October activities about pumpkins. While you do all the fun stuff – dissecting the pumpkins, feeling the pumpkin guts, using your five senses to explore that pumpkin – here are some other enjoyable activities you can also implement.

This song is part of the Bundle above. It’s a fun, catchy tune that you can sing all month long.

Don’t forget about all the writing activities that go along with pumpkins.

Fall

Last but not least…maybe you just need an entire month of FALL activities. Maybe you don’t really want lots of thematic ideas but just straight fall fun! Here you go…..many resources that will help you plan centers, writing and math.

YAY!!!! There are so many options! If you need a lot of ideas…well…there you have it! BUT if you need just one or two activity fillers for the month…that’s covered too.

Secret Tip: Enjoy this month and the fruit of your labor of all the routine practice and modeling correct behaviors. However, if you are finding that your kids need a little more (or a lot more) help check out this resource made for extra motivation: Behavior Puppets