Leaves!

K2 and I decided to do our leaf science lesson this week.  The gamble was whether Tuesday and Wednesday of this week would be drier (weather wise) than the next.  I'm glad we made the leap.  The weather turned out perfect both days.

I took each group out for a short leaf walk.  We compared the oak trees in front of our school (variety of colors, number of leaves left) and selected 2 leaves per person for a project, before heading inside to enjoy our two books.  I read "Leaf Man" by Lois Elhert and "Autumn Leaves" by Ken Robbins.  Afterwards I shared why I love Leaf Man: how the author strolled through her own woods during autumn, collecting and scanning what she considered to be the best leaves, then printing and cutting the scans out to create leaf pictures.  My goal is to create an awareness of the changes in the world around us and inspire them to make their own creations.  At the end I demonstrate how to do a leaf rubbing with paper, crayons and the leaves we selected.
Something L and I have tried for the past 3 years is to have the children listen to another book about making leaf pictures when they return to the classroom and then having a chance to make their own.  L then takes their leaf creations home to scan and make a classroom book.  The morning class did a nice job, but the afternoon crafted some amazing pictures.  Something about that creative part of our brains working better in the afternoon AND the instructors giving better explanations.
{Have to share one funny from the day:  During the first trip (of 4) out of our building to begin a leaf walk, I spotted a pile of dog poo in the middle or our path.  I alerted each group to watch their step and reminded them to clean-up after their own dogs.  One of the short people in the middle of day remarked, "Maybe dogs should learn to clean-up after themselves!".}