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Falling Leaves

© Mary M. Alward

Autumn is here. It is also known in many parts of the world as fall. If you live in an area where there are four seasons like I do, you are lucky. Autumn is the time of year when leaves change their green coats for those of red, orange, yellow and brown. Forests and woods are a blaze of color. It's the time of year when Mother Nature gets out her paintbrush and splashes the trees with color.

Millions of trees all over the world end the growing season by dropping their leaves. Some fall directly to the ground. Others are blown great distances by the wind. Still others dance on a cool autumn breeze. It's a time when you can have fun watching the changes that are taking place around you. There are many activities to do at this time of year. Collect your favorite colored leaves and press them before putting them into a scrapbook. Label them by year. I still have a scrapbook of leaves that I collected as a child. It's nice to take them out years later and show them to my grandsons, who collect their own leaves each year.

On a nice fall day, find a place under a tree and lie down. Watch the leaves as they fall. Do they fall straight down or is the wind whisking them away? Record your observations.

Shake the tree. Are there new patterns? Are more leaves falling now then when you were lying quietly? Which way do they fall? Are they all falling the same way? Record what you see.

Go to different kinds of trees. Do larger leaves fall faster or slower than smaller leaves? Do they all fall the same way? Are there different patterns? Record your conclusions.

Now for the fun. Get a rake and gather leaves into a large pile. Jump into them. Hide under them. Run through them. What do you see, smell and hear while playing in your leaf pile? Record your observations.

Move away from your leaf pile. Pretend you're a falling leaf. Act out the movements of a falling leaf. Which way do you fall? Why? Do this activity with friends and pretend you are a forest of falling leaves. Does everyone move the same direction? Do their arms and legs make the same movements? Record what you see.

Go back to your pile of leaves. Jump into it. Did you know that fallen leaves protect small animals and insects during the harsh winter months? Pretend you are a mouse living in a pile of leaves. What do you see, smell and hear? Does the mouse feel safe? Will it have food? Record your conclusions.

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