Look What I Did with a Leaf!

This week we took a close look at leaves. In our nature journals, we chose a fallen leaf to sketch as realistically as we could. Using our observational skills, we examined our particular leaf to look at its shape, the pattern of veins running through it, any insect damage we could discern and other markings to include in our sketches.

The leaves we see on the ground in the fall are from deciduous trees. We did some close reading to find out more information about leaves such as how they use light and water to make chlorophyll in a process called photosynthesis. When the hours of light shorten after the equinox and the temperatures start to drop with the change of seasons, the tree stops sending fluids and nutrients to the leaves. The stem becomes sealed off from the branch it is attached to and it falls from the tree.

Coniferous (evergreen) trees have needles which have a waxy coating that protects them from the harsh conditions of winter so while they naturally shed their needles throughout the year, they do not have a wholesale drop in the fall as the deciduous trees do.

Using the book "Look What I Did With a Leaf" kids saw how the author/artist had arranged and layered fallen leaves to resemble different animals. With this inspiration, we took a walk to collect leaves that would help us construct images of our own. We were lucky enough to find a variety of colors, shapes and sizes among the fallen leaves of the school grounds and environs.

The finished works of art are attached below. These will soon be displayed in the classroom hallway. We were impressed with the ingenuity and creativity of our young artists!