In the summer, leaves are all around us. They’re simply part of the atmosphere of summer: dappled shade, vigorous growing plants, and foliage that grows over other foliage in the garden. While people often study leaves in the autumn as the foliage changes colors, there are plenty of activities that you can do to explore the delights of the summer leaf as well.
In the summer, leaves are working overtime. They begin at dawn long before you wake up, and they don’t stop working until the sun goes down. A summer leaf uses water, carbon dioxide and sun energy to make food. This food is also known as sugar or carbohydrates. From the leaf, this food moves throughout the plant. These carbohydrates made out of the sun’s energy are the basis of life on earth. Without them, animals would have nothing to eat.
Small children can discover the many shapes of leaves in the garden or in the forest. Count the number of shapes you find and write down all of the variations on these shapes. Learn how scientists identify plants based on different attributes such as leaf shape. After collecting leaves of many shapes, press them in a book to make an ID guide or make a leaf crown by weaving a piece of ribbon in and out of the base of the leaves.
Learn about the leaves that plants make as they emerge from the soil. When plants emerge from seeds, they have leaves that often look quite different from the leaves that they will have as adults. These are called cotyledons, and they are the leaves that help move energy from the seed to the growing plant. Track the growth of the cotyledons and examine them to see how they are different from the first true leaves.
What about the process of photosynthesis? Measure the growth rates of plants in the sun and in the shade. Place a removable sticker on part of a leaf and leave it there for a week or two. Remove it. Did this impact the growth rate of the leaf? Does this part of the leaf look different compared to the other parts of the leaf?
What can you do with a leaf in the summer?
Image courtesy of poofy at Stock Exchange.