Note: Lots has changed since I last worked with новацтво in 2004. One thing that I’m sure hasn’t changed is the scramble to figure out what activities to do during сходини, like what казки to tell and what games to play. Here’s my attempt in helping новацькі виховники figure out what to do on a weekly basis. Contact me if you’d like to contribute.
New станичний рік — new сходини ideas!
On thing I remember from my years as a новачка was going to a farm for hay rides. Sometimes there would be a станична Осінна Ватра too. Anyone still do those?
Here’s a list of potential themes and activities that could do well in the fall. I also included some вмілостей that could work with the fall themes. Let me know if you end up using any of these, or if you have any ideas to add to the list.
General Теми
- get to know you (new year, new kids)
- harvest (tie in with potential прогулька to a farm: hay rides, petting zoo, etc)
- Historical: Листопадовий звир (Західноукраїнська Народна Республіка), Помаранчева революція, Євромайдан
- changing of the seasons, especially the changes seen in some plants
Potential Вмілости
- Дослідник пір року (Молодший), Приятель дерев (Старший): talk about the changes in leaf color, if that happens in your region, and then go leaf peeping!
- Рослинне Господарство (Середний / Старший): tie in with harvest теми
- Тваринне Господарство (Середний / Старший): could be good if your рій/гніздо/станиця goes to a farm for hay rides and/or petting zoo.
- Любитель Минулого, Стрільчик (Середній / Старший): tie in with historical themes
Stories/Poems
- 1990-жовтень, 395: Жовтень, Останній Листочок, Гриби (8-9)
- 1990-листопад/грудень, 396/397: Осінь (3), Мама — Школа
- Ріпка (kazkar.info); harvest
- Як звірі хату будували (kazka.vn.ua); transitioning seasons, lots of animals involved, working as a group (to defend)
- Дарунки з трьох зернин (kazka.vn.ua); seasons, harvest, getting things the right way, pumpkins, swallows
- дві вивірки (kazka.vn.ua); like the ant and the grasshopper story, but with two squirrels
- List of picture books about harvest (would have to translate)
Arts + Crafts
Songs
- How do you not do Ходить гарбуз по городу?
- Історичні: Гей, степами; Гей, там на горі Січ іде
- Forest/nature themes: Йшов Гуцул через ліс (I suggest customizing this song to be relevant to the сходини); Край лісу на полянці, На місточку (Через міст), Узяла лисичка скрипку, Гоп, скок
- Пласт-icana: Коли візьму хустину, Веселе щасливе новацьке життя
- Farm: Я корова, Чорний баран, Господарство дід наш має (Old McDonald had a farm), Господарство дід наш має part 2, Чорна Овечка (Baa baa black sheep), Індик і Півник
Games
There are so many good ideas at kidsactivities.net that I’m not going to list them all. Here’s one I particularly liked (as I have an extensive plaid shirt collection):
Dress a Scarecrow and Run
via kidsactivities.net
Stock up on over-sized plaid shirts, goofy pants, floppy hats and any other clothing that a scarecrow might wear. Make piles containing one of each item. The number of piles is determined either by the number of kids or teams participating.
Line up kids and let the game begin! The children run to the pile, put on the outfit, and dart back to the starting line. If doing it as a team game, they then switch the outfit with their teammate–who run out and back. First team with their last team member dressed as a scarecrow wins.
mytuesdaytherapy.com also has a good list of kids games. I imagine Pine Cone Bocce would be hilarious! There’s also a lot of fall-themed minute-to-win-it games listed.