The Homeschool Almanac

Complete lesson pack

Optimised for A4 paper. Use your browser's Print (Cmd/Ctrl+P) to save as PDF.

← Back to lesson

Story · for reading together

Autumn, harvest and shorter days

The Earth is a ball, spinning as it circles the sun. And it is TIPPED, like a wobbly top. When our half of the world is tipped AWAY from the sun, we get autumn. That is all autumn really is. A lean.

Because we are leaning away, the sun sits lower in the sky and the days grow shorter. The animals notice first. The squirrels bury nuts. The hedgehogs eat and eat, ready to sleep for months. The swallows have already flown to Africa.

The farmers bring in the last of the harvest — apples, pears, quinces, the last blackberries. And on the last Sunday of October, all the clocks in Britain go BACK by one hour. Everyone gets an extra hour in bed.

Retell the story

In three pictures

Three pictures: the tipped Earth leaning away from the sun, a full basket of apples, and a clock's hand jumping backwards.

1.The lean
2.The harvest basket
3.The hour, back

Answer key: Apple, pear, quince, or blackberry.

Number & measure

Counting the hours

You have a basket. You are picking apples.

  1. a)You pick 3 red apples and 2 green apples. How many apples? 3 + 2 = ?
  2. b)You give ONE to a friend. How many are left in your basket?
  3. c)On Monday sunset is at 6. On Tuesday it is at 5. How many hours earlier is Tuesday's sunset than Monday's?
  4. d)When the clocks go BACK, a 6 o'clock sunset suddenly becomes a 5 o'clock sunset. Draw both clocks with the short hand.

Answer key: a) 5 b) 4 c) 1 hour

Draw the inside

Your drawing

Draw one apple, sliced right through the middle from top to bottom. Show the skin, the crunchy flesh, the little brown pips in the star shape at the core, and the stalk.

drawn by me

Labels

  • · stalk
  • · skin
  • · flesh
  • · core
  • · pips