Making, Raking, and Painting Leaves

 

Take a Walk to Collect Leaves

Young children’s minds are wondrous creative gifts. We sometimes forget how much they can absorb. Fall is an excellent season for science and art learning fun and they don’t take much time.
  You’ll need coffee filters, paper towels, child safety scissors, watercolors, a dinner plate, and leaves
  Take a short walk and collect some colorful leaves. Explain how leaves are nature’s food factories.  They take water from the ground through their plant roots.
  Introduce a few science terms. Young children learn long dinosaur names and master a DVD controller so why not a little science?
Science Concepts
  Leaves take a gas called carbon dioxide from the air (that we exhale) and use sunlight and water to turn this gas into glucose (sugar) for the plant and oxygen for us to breathe. A green chemical called chlorophyll helps make it all happen and covers up other beautiful leaf colors.  Plants use the sugar as a food for energy. This is photosynthesis meaning putting together with light.
  In fall the tree gets ready to rest for the winter and live off the sugar. There is less sunshine and no need for chlorophyll so the tree shuts off water to the leaves with  little walls and we get to see all the colors that were hidden by the green as leaves die and fall to the ground. Children can act this out.
Watercolor Fun
  Help your children identify all of the leaf colors before placing leaves in a heavy book to press.

Identify Colors Along the Way

Then take out a few absorbent coffee filters, watercolors, and a plate of rinsing water. Teach the kids to rinse off their bush to keep it clean.
  To make maple leaves, children can spread fingers and trace their hand on a filter. For oak leaves trace their foot or palm with fingers snug together.
  After checking that your children are grasping the scissors correctly, help them hold and cut out the filter leaves. If they cut out jagged leaves, no problem.  They are doing the best they can right now.
  On a paper towel make a few water colors they observed on real leaves like red, yellow, purple (red and blue) orange (red and yellow) brown (orange plus a little blue or green plus a little red.
  Children can now paint their filter leaves.

Continue to Use Science Words

The watercolors will blend together. Allow the leaves to dry and press in a book or gently iron, if curly. Tape them in a sunny window or glue on a cardboard circle to make a wreath.
 Use the science words at least six times on future walks and discussions together.  Encourage them to explain to someone else how leaves turn colors.
Photos: Fran Darling, fdarling fotos

More Ideas and Activities....See the authors’ book “Learning Through the Seasons” at area bookstores and grandparentsteachtoo.org. For more help to prepare young children for success in school see the authors’ web site: www.grandparentsteachtoo.org. Also check our audio Podcasts WNMU Radio, 90; Youtube video activities; and join us on Pinterest