Autumn Leaves are Tumbling Down

It’s that special time of year when the air starts to get crisp, the leaves start to turn, and the days feel a little bit shorter. Since the children are not playing at the playground this year, it has given them an opportunity to get to know the many fields of Church Square Park.

The Sky Class has been taking advantage of this time in the fields and the wonderful weather before the winds get a little too cold and the ground gets a little too muddy.

Time outside has been spent getting in touch with nature — literally!  The children have been busy raking, hugging trees, and collecting piles of leaves…

lots, and lots of leaves!

All of this play has caused the children to take a closer look at the leaves covering the ground and to think about the ways that they have seen them change in the last month.  Have they changed colors?  Has the texture of the leaves changed, and how so?  This curiosity about leaves continued to grow, and the children began collecting leaves that they found interesting.

Unfortunately, these beautiful leaves don’t last forever, but there is a way to preserve them. This week, the children took on the challenge of creating leaf rubbings with the leaves they had collected.  The children were challenged to find a color that was similar to that of the leaf, and gently make an impression by rubbing the crayon across the paper. These rubbings have made a timely addition to the tree in the Sky Classroom.

I wonder how much the foliage will change between now and when the children return from Thanksgiving break? The Sky Class teachers are excited to observe more changes in our surroundings as fall starts to fade into winter!