The dog days of summer are behind us, and fall is approaching! With fall comes crisp nights, Halloween and hot chocolate. But, one of the biggest signs of fall is the leaves changing colors.
Boasting vibrant shades of red, yellow, orange, purple and brown, leaves begin to change color in response to the cooler temperatures and longer nights. While some leaves begin to change colors as early as August, fall foliage doesn’t begin until late September for most of the United States.
To help you celebrate one of the best things about fall, we’ve gathered some of our favorite leaf games, activities and crafts:
Leaf Identification Game: Take students on a nature walk to collect leaves, and identify trees based on the shape and color of each leaf. Use this guide from iMom to help students find an assortment of leaves, like those from maple, elm and poplar trees.
Tissue paper leaves: Students will use construction paper, contact paper and colored tissue paper to make beautiful leaf art to hang on the classroom windows. Check out this fall leaf craft and others here.
Why Do Leaves Change Color: This simple experiment removes the chlorophyll from the leaves – which makes them green – to demonstrate why leaves change color in fall.
DIY Clay Leaf Bowl: Put students’ small hands to work! To make the clay leaf bowls, students will need air dry clay; red, yellow, orange and brown acrylic paint; sealer; a rolling pin and a big leaf. Once finished, put them on display in the classroom or have students gift them to their parents!
Autumn Song: Sing “Red and Yellow and Orange and Brown” to teach young students about leaf change and fall weather. It’s sang to the tune of “Skip to my Lou,” so it’s easy for students to learn and remember.
Leaf Rubbing Collage: Explore the different shapes, sizes and textures of leaves with leaf rubbings. For the sake of the season, use fall-colored crayons for the rubbings. Once done, hang them on the wall for display!
Check out our Fall Activities and Crafts Pinterest board for more seasonal activities.
