When the end is drawing near we often show the finest of ourselves. Who are we? Leaves!
Leaves are the powerhouse of trees, drawing energy from the sun to keep the tree growing until autumn daylight dwindles and real colours are revealed. Then the sticky plug of glue holding leaf on branch weakens, and they fall softly to the ground. Right now is the very best time to wonder about the uniqueness of leaves and what might be hiding inside.
Leaves are like the face of humans. They tell us so much about who they are and who they’re related to. We are now in a rush to learn to identify leaves by their faces and shapes before we lose this information. You went on a leaf hunt match with your Leaf Captain. What were the 5 leaves you found? Can you tell something about their shape using your own words? (long, twisty, sharp, swirly). There are so many fun words we can use to describe leaves. Snail noticed tiny differences even between trees of the same species. We have two Tulip trees with leaf shapes that don’t match perfectly. Nature always surprises!
Rubbing a crayon over the veins and edges of leaves shows all the detail. Is this something you could do at home? Adding names of trees to your leaf picture helps you become a better naturalist.
Your tree friend has its own unique leaf or needle. What is it like? Will it stay green or fall soon and regrow in spring? Tell your family the story of your tree friend clean-up. What did you do to make your tree friend the perfect spot for you to hang out? Are you ready to move in yet?
Meet our some new trees coming soon to the farm. Give an introduction at home. Do you remember anything special about them?
Land art uses natural materials to make beautiful shapes and pictures. Chickadee and Deer with our help made a HUGE leaf land art picture. You can do this at home by adding a stick frame and laying down a sheet. You also created a leaf collage masterpiece with a friend. Share about the living things you chose to add and how they were arranged inside the frame. Is this the kind of art we keep forever?
Have you ever asked yourself, why do leaves change in the fall and how do they do it? Well, we learned that leaves actually contain 3 different pigments. Can you remember what colours they are? With fewer hours of sunlight, the deciduous trees stop making chlorophyll and that’s when we begin to see the real colours inside leaves.
We were surprised to discover that non-permanent black marker also contains different pigments of colour. We used eye droppers and spritzers to spray water on words written in black marker on a paper towel. The results were spectacular! What colours did we see as we shared our results around the circle? We learned that this process is called chromatography - a scientific word which means the process of separating a colour into its pigments. If you enjoyed this activity, you might like to try this experiment at home!
This inspired us to see if we could pull the pigments out of leaves without the help of nature. We finished the first part of the experiment and were excited to already see some results. See if you can describe what you saw on the filter strip for your parents.
We felt like scientists using our nature notebooks to draw a diagram of the experiment. Some of us were even able to add labels which showed the materials we used. Remember, you can always start a home nature notebook so that you can write about what you discovered at nature school that day or use it to record any new nature experiences you have.
What's The Story?
Our final wander of the day took us to Pine Haven where we witnessed an unusual wedding ceremony including a bride wearing a very nature-inspired outfit. See if you can describe the surprise ending to your parents. Needless to say, there was no wedding reception to follow!
We also checked for the Orb Weaver spiders near old bridge and were disappointed to discover they were no longer there. However, Raccoon and Squirrel explored a little farther down the path and found 5 new webs, all made by Orb Weavers. We noticed that these webs were in full sun. Could these have been the same spiders? Why do you think they might have changed locations?
We recognize the strength, kindness and effort you show at nature school. At our closing circle you gave a cheer to others who helped a friend, were brave in the face of doubt, or handled an injury with courage. Think about what you or your friends did today that deserved a cheer. Here's a 'Hip-Hip-Hooray to your mom and dad, who make sure the farm is your place to be yourself. Keep watching for changes in YOU and the world around you Forest Friends:).
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