In the Moment: Leaf Lessons
Here in Minnesota, we are at the peak of fall foliage. The temperature is starting to drop and we are experiencing the color change of leaves as trees prepare for the winter. My children look forward to a sunny afternoon at their grandma’s house so they can create forts, piles to jump in, and mazes with the endless amounts of fallen leaves left on the yard. There are TONS of ways to incorporate leaves into one’s curiosity and wonder. Here are just a few ideas that are quick, easy, and involve little to no prep. Whatever the age, curious minds will enjoy these!
But first, go on an exploration to collect your favorite fallen leaves.
Leaf Sort. How many ways can one classify leaves? Color, size, shape, and type of margin (edge of the leaf) are just some that come to mind.
Create Leaf Kabobs. Practice patterns by placing leaves on a kabob stick in organized patterns. Maybe it’s orange > orange> yellow > red > red > orange > orange > yellow > red > red > etc. Or create a number pattern like 3 brown > 2 yellow > 1 red.
Safety note: if you are using sharp edged kabobs, make sure your children already have their leaves collected and in front of them. Running around with a pointed kabob stick is not recommended.
Sequence leaves. Senescence is the natural deterioration of leaves that happens to most deciduous trees in the fall. Explore this process by collecting many leaves of the same type of tree. Make sure the leaves that you collect are differing in the color change stages. Have your child try to sequence the leaves to show the time lapse of this deterioration.
Write about it! Encourage older children to express themselves about what they observe and how they feel about the leaves during the fall by creating a short story or poem.
The list can go on and on but I will leave you with just those four.
