We’re channeling fall around here: clear, crisp days, drifting leaves, and a harvest moon. Fall doesn’t often happen this way in our part of the world. Usually it’s defined as rain, rain and more rain. So we’re enjoying these crisp October days while they last.
One of the glorious things about clear weather is the crisp leaves. We have bigleaf or broadleaf maples in our parks, and these leaves are bigger than an adult’s head.
What do you and your homelearners do with fall leaves?
Well, we like to rake them and jump in them, of course. This is physical education at its finest. There’s nothing better than working up a sweat with some leaves. Just make sure that there aren’t any nasties in the pile (dog doo among them).
We like to press them for books. Those big maples are a little large, but everything else can be pressed and turn into a book. Get some mac tac and glue pressed leaves onto a mat and make Thanksgiving placemats, or grate crayons and place leaves and crayons between sheets of wax paper, put a mat on top, and iron the two together.
We like to make crafts with them. Add them to a headband to make a leaf crown. Weave through the leaves with ribbon and make leaf necklaces or crowns. I’m thinking of making a leaf mobile as well.
We like to paint them. Stick a leaf onto a piece of paper with a little bit of play dough, then paint on top or it. When the paint dries, remove the leaf and you have a gorgeous silhouette.
We investigate them. Take a look at a leaf with a magnifying glass. Check it for bugs, for fungi, and for all sorts of tiny animals who live on the leaf.
What do you do with leaves?