Autumn’s Here!

Thinking positively about autumn

by Lydia Parkinson

Suitable for Key Stage 3

Aims

To consider the positives about autumn.

Preparation and materials

• You will need the PowerPoint slides that accompany this assembly (Autumn’s Here!) and the means to display them.

Assembly

1. Show Slide 1.
   
   Point out that the colours in the picture suggest that autumn is a wonderful, cosy time of year. However, people sometimes think of it as a season when the days get shorter and the nights get longer, when the days get colder and we start to feel a bit dreary.
   
   
2. However, there are plenty of fun things to do in autumn. Tell the students that you are going to show them a few, and suggest that they might like to try some of them in the next couple of months. They could even make their own autumn bucket list!
   
   
3. Show Slide 2.
   
   Go on a woodland walk with friends or family. Listen to the sounds, look at the colours and notice the smells.
   
   
4. Show Slide 3.
   
   Discover local places where you can go fruit-picking or dig up your own vegetables. See if fruit and veg tastes different when it’s picked straight from the tree or the ground.
   
   
5. Show Slide 4.
   
   It doesn’t have to be Halloween to carve pumpkins! Be original and use your imagination.
   
   
6. Show Slide 5.
   
   Plant some bulbs that will flower in winter or spring. Look at charts to see the depths that different bulbs grow best at.
   
   
7. Show Slide 6.
   
   How about making an autumn wreath? There are lots of YouTube videos to help with this. Maybe you could make one for a neighbour or family member.
   
   
8. Show Slide 7.
   
   Make soup! It’s healthy, cheap and easy to make. Autumn veg such as carrots, parsnips and squash make delicious soup - why not experiment by combining flavours?
   
   
9. Show Slide 8.
   
   Make autumn seed pictures. These are bright and great for gifts – you could make early Christmas presents for relatives.
   
   
10. Show Slide 9.
    
    Lie in some autumn leaves and look up at the sky or the trees. Relax and enjoy some beauty.
    
    
11. Show Slide 10.
    
    Go for a walk and kick some leaves. Enjoy being outside and having fun.

Time for reflection

Let’s pause to reflect on some of these ideas. Let’s decide to be positive, and enjoy all that this season has in store for us.

Pause to allow time for thought.

Let’s decide to do things that we haven’t tried before so that, when winter comes, we know that we’ve made the most of every opportunity and had loads of fun along the way.

Song/music

‘Autumn days’ (Come and Praise, 4), available at: https://youtu.be/ByLoE8c6yAk (2.20 minutes long)