Acorns

Fall Collage
Go for a nature walk. Supply the children with a Ziploc bag to collect twigs, leaves, acorns, etc. When you arrive back at school, encourage the children to use the materials to create a fall collage. Use glue to affix the materials to the paper.

Nature Walk Bracelet
Place a piece of masking tape around each child's wrist, sticky side out. Have the children place materials they find on their nature walk on the bracelet.


Acorn Painting
First you need a large plastic container with a lid. (I used a shallow peanut butter container.) Next, cut out paper that will fit in the lid of the container. Place a few drops of paint into the container with a few acorns (be sure to observe carefully as acorns are a choking hazard) then place a very small amount of paint on the lid and pre-cut paper on the paint. (I use the paint to make the paper stick to the lid.) Place the lid on the container, flip and have the children shake. When finished, remove paper and allow it to dry and place a clean piece of paper in the lid for the next child.

Acorn Prints
You can use the tops of acorns to make circles on paper. The children can press the top onto an ink pad, then onto the paper.

Torn Paper Acorns
Supply the children with an image of an acorn. Supply the children with light and dark brown paper to tear. Have the children glue light brown torn paper onto the bottom part and dark brown torn paper pieces onto the top.

Sink or Float?
Ask the students to predict whether they think acorns will sink or float. Try it out!

Acorn Sort
Provide many acorns for the children to sort. They can sort by color, size, whether they have a cap or not.

Acorn Counting
Place small pieces of paper numbered 1 through 6 in the bottom of a muffin tin. Supply the children with 21 acorns. The children should place 1 acorn in the 1 tin and 2 in the 2 tin. And so on.

Acorn Counting 2
Have the children roll a large die. The child would then count out the number of acorns corresponding to the number on the die.

Acorn Science
Talk about the parts of an acorn. Where do they come from? What are they for? Allow the children to break open an acorn and observe with a microscope of magnifying lens.

Planting Acorns
Collect acorns with your students on a fall nature walk. Place the acorns in a damp paper towel and place in a sunny place. Keep the towels damp over the next few days. Watch the acorns sprout. Allow the children to observe the acorns with a magnifying lens. Place the acorns in potting soil in individual cups for the children to take home.

Acorn Bottle
Clean out an empty plastic pop bottle. Add acorns, leaves, twigs etc. Seal the bottle closed using a little hot glue, allow to completely dry before the children can play with it. Tip the bottle back and forth. Roll the bottle on the floor.

Number Acorns
Tie 3 feet of string to a wooden spoon. Attach a magnet to the end of the string. Cut out 6 small acorn shapes from the construction paper. Number the fish from 1 to 6. Attach paper clips to the acorns. Lay the acorns on the floor, spreading them out at first. Have the children use the fishing pole to try to catch the acorns. Have them try to get a certain number.

Number Acorn Game
Follow instructions for Number Acorns. Then, obtain a die. Have one child roll the die, then count the dots, to find the number. Then have the child try to catch the acorn with that number on it.

Acorn Game
Hide an acorn under one of three cups lined in a row. Move the cups around and have your child guess which cup the object is under.

Acorn Hunt
Fill a dishpan half full with sand and add a few acorns. Let your child find the acorns, and count them when they are done.

Play dough Acorns
Have the children create acorns shapes from play dough, or press acorns into the play dough and observe the impression it makes.

Acorn Headbands
Measure your child's head, and cut a piece of construction paper long enough to create a headband. Glue the paper together so the headband fits snugly on your child's head but is loose enough to take off easily. Have the children cut out acorn shapes or use stickers and glue to the headband.

Fingerprint Acorns
Supply your children with white paper and a non-toxic brown stamp pad. Have the children make fingerprints on the paper to represent acorns.

Acorn Jar
For older children. Fill a small jar with acorns. Ask each child to guess how many acorns are in the jar. For younger children, limit the number of acorns to less than ten. Record each child's guess. Count the acorns.

Acorn Jar for Schoolagers
Provide three identical jars with pre-counted acorns of 20, 30, and 40. Label these jars 20, 30 and 40. Place 20 to 40 acorns in a fourth identical jar. Allow the children to examine all four jars before they guess. Record the children's approximations. Count the acorns.

Lacing Cards
Cut colored poster board into an acorn shape and punch holes around the edges. Then let your child lace yarn or a shoestring into the cards.

Acorn Hop
Cut out large acorn shapes from colored paper. Laminate them and cut them out. Place them on the floor and ask the children to hop from one acorn to another. These may also be used at seat markers for group time.

Acorn Bean Bag Toss
Cut out three acorn shapes from a piece of cardboard. Paint around the shapes with three different colors. When dry, prop up the cardboard and have the children play bean bag toss, trying to get the bean bags in the acorn holes.

Recommended Books:
The Acorn and the Oak Tree
Dot & Jabber and the Great Acorn Mystery (Dot & Jabber)
The Acorn Tree and Other Folktales
From Acorn to Oak Tree