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Identify Leaves

Leaves in Wind

In many parts of the country, it's time for leaves to begin falling. Even if you live where leaves don't fall, you can take your child on a leaf lookout.

What You Need:

area with trees
shopping bag
sheets of blank paper
black or brown crayon

What You Do:

First, gather a leaf from several different types of trees in your neighborhood or park. Put the leaves in a bag and head out with your child for your fall color walk.
Pull a leaf out of the bag and see if your can match it to a tree.
If you take some paper and a crayon, your child can also make a bark rubbing of some of the trees. Just press the paper to the bark and rub the crayon lightly over it. A crayon stub rubbed on its side works great for this activity.
You can help your child compile his or her own tree book, complete with the leaves, the names of the trees the leaves come from, and their bark rubbings. To help you identify the trees, refer to First Guide to Trees by George A. Petrides.

-- Adapted from Leafing Through Leaves from Your Big Backyard magazine.