Fall Leaves

When Change is Good

This lens spotlights and highlights fall leaves. It provides travel, educational, and planning information and activities for classroom use.

Growing up in California, the only way I knew that the seasons had changed was the "End-of-Season" sales at Nordy's or Buffums. So I have always been intrigued by the vibrance and beauty of what, essentially is, the passage from one chapter of life into another.

Links to Online Activities for Kids

Great for classrooms and living rooms!

Fall Leaves Games: Matching, concentration, word search of fall and fall leaves vocabulary. Multi-curricular.
Fall Foliage in the U.S.: Trek across the U.S. searching for fall leaves in this activity with a History emphasis.
Fall Leaves: Why Do They Change Color?: A Scavenger Hunt on Fall Leaves, when to see them, and how science is involved. Great for Science, Math, and/or Computer Literacy classes.
Online Autumn: Games with autumn terms created by a gifted educator.
Names of the Moon: Native Americans used descriptive names for the monthly full moons. This is a great tie-in to History, Cultures, Language Arts, and Computer Literacy.
By the way, which moon matches your birth month?
Covered Bridge Math: To get to the best and brightest leaves, we drove over old, creaky bridges and a great tie-in for math problems was born! Take a look and see!

Squidoo Lenses Featuring Fall

Original Kids' Crafts for Fall / Autumn

Do your kids need something to do? Do you want to develop their creativity and have a heap of fun at the same time? Kids' crafts are fun. Here are some great craft ideas.

Fall

Fall in New England is a festival of colors that capture more then just your mind, the colors capture your soul. The change heralds the coming of winter, but for a brief few weeks the landscape is painted with a brush held in the hand of the universe...

The Great Pumpkin

Every Halloween, The Great Pumpkin rises out of the most sincere pumpkin patch and brings treats to all the good children of the world. Watching The Great Pumpkin was always a big event when I was a kid. We had four channels on TV, and it was a speci...

Autumn Classroom Resources

Autumn presents many opportunities for children to explore the natural world around them. These fun activities and articles will provide parents and educators with a great start for exploring the changing season with kids.

Celebrations of Autumn

This lens celebrates my favorite time of year -- autumn. There is so much to celebrate -- pumpkins, apples, crimson leaves and of course the holidays of autumn. The things I describe in terms of recipies and traditions are not for t...

Links Celebrating Autumn

Some websites that celebrate autumn.

Autumn Leaf Scrapbook Virtual Field Trip: Go on a virtual fall leaf expedition.
Traditional Autumn Scavenger Hunt: Grab a bag and begin scouting around for the items described on this website.
Preserving Leaves: Keep your memories of fall all year long by pressing the leaves you find.

Important Questions

Use these quick facts as game questions, conversation starters, or class warm-ups:

1. How many leaves do trees have? - An average, large healthy tree could have about 2,000 leaves. During 60 years of its life, such a tree could grow and shed approximately 3,600 pounds of leaves. Those leaves return about 70 percent of the nutrients to the soil.

2. Can leaves turn different colors on the same tree? Yes. Leaves directly exposed to the sun may turn red, while those on the shady side of the same tree or other trees, may be yellow.

3. Does lots of rain affect a tree's leaf color? Yes. When there is mainly warm, cloudy and rainy weather in the Fall, the leaves may have less red coloration.

4. Have there been other explanations for leaves changing color? Yes. According to Native American myth, hunters in the Heavens killed the Great Bear in Autumn and its blood dripped over Earth's forests coloring some of the leaves red. As the hunters cooked the meat, fat dripped from the Heavens and colored some of the leaves yellow. Folklore held that Jack Frost was responsible for changes in leaf color.

5. Is the winged euonymous a species of eagle that flies between the branches of fall trees?
No. The winged euonymous is the botanical name of a fall tree that boasts red and purple leaves.

The Poetry of Falling Leaves

Falling Leaves Usher in a Reflective Time, Perfect for Poets...Can you add a stanza?

"October" By Rose Fyleman:

The summer is over,
The trees are all bare,
There is mist in the garden and frost in the air.
The meadows are empty
And gathered the sheaves-
But isn't it lovely kicking up leaves!

John from the garden
Has taken the chairs;
It's dark in the evening
And cold on the stairs.
Winter is coming and everyone grieves-
But isn't it lovely kicking up leaves!

Source: http://www.ncantonlibrary.org/departments/Children/october.htm

Journal Prompts for a Changing Season

Write a few lines or a lot!

Journal Prompt #1 : Let changing fall leaves represent a desire for us to change-to let go of what is hindering and to lay hold of our untapped potential. What do you need to let go of today?

Journal Prompt #2: The phrase turning over a new leaf is particularly appropriate today. What new leaf do you need to turn over? What will you find on the other side when you do so?