Nature Net News
Your source for tips
& tricks for exploring nature with your kids
September 2012
Fall Colors
"Autumn is a second spring, when
every leaf is a flower."
Albert Camus
Dear Reader, When I was in middle school, I collected leaves. But these weren't just some ordinary leaves--they were pretty leaves. As a more poetic adult, I say that as a child I searched to find the leaf that exemplified the autumn season, but let's be honest here. I was 8 or 9 and just wanted a perfect memento of the gorgeous colors surrounding me. I would proudly bring each leaf home, presenting it to my mother at the doorway. "Since you couldn't get out of the office," I would say, "I brought nature to you!" She would smile, thank me, and take the leaf. Going through my mother's library this year, I came across a very thick book. Opening it, I discovered page upon page of perfectly pressed maple leaves from the fall. The colors had faded, but the happy memories were still there. And so I found myself walking down through a maple grove and finding more leaves to add to her collection. I can barely wait to see the expression on her face or hear the puzzled phone call! So get out there and enjoy those colors! Find your perfect leaf, press it, or use it in a craft. Get out there and celebrate the colorful changing of the seasons! Enjoy! Kathe, Sarah & Brenna |
Bright sunlight is essential for the production of the red (anthocyanin) pigment in the fall leaves: if a black mask is placed on part of a leaf before it turns red, the part of the leaf under the mask will turn yellow while the exposed part will turn red.
What To Do This Month:
Take a walk to view the nature colors with your kids. Which plants are turning different colors? Can you see the difference in animal's coats? What has changed its appearance since summer?
Find a crunchy leaf and stomp on it.
Go leaf collecting--which trees produce the most colorful leaves? Which fall colors do you see the most?
Tricks of the Trail for Parents:
Little Leaves
It's fun to go looking up at the various leaves surrounding you as you go on a nature hike, but remember to keep one eye on the ground so your tots don't trip over something on the trail!
Instant Outdoor Expert:
Why Do Leaves Change Color?
The green in leaves is caused by chlorophyll, a byproduct of photosynthesis (how the tree makes energy using water, nutrients from the ground, and sunlight).
As the days get shorter and the nights longer, the tree prepares for a sort of hibernation--some of the energy made during the spring and summer has been stored, and will be used when the tree goes into a state of dormancy. Leaves expend energy that is needed to keep the tree alive during the winter, so the tree "turns off" its leaves and its chlorophyll-making properties.
Leaves are usually pigmented by trapped sugar (made through photosynthesis), but chlorophyll covers these pigments up. The lack of chlorophyll allows the leaves to return to their original colors--reds, yellows, oranges, and browns--the colors of autumn.
And why is autumn often called fall? Because of the falling leaves, of course!
Featured Nature Net Site
Nature Craft
UW Arboretum
Come and see the fall color changes at the University
of Wisconsin - Madison Arboretum! The Arboretum features many
distinct ecological communities, several horticultural collections,
effigy mounds, historic artifacts, a Visitor Center and more than 20
miles of a trail system composed of footpaths, boardwalks and fire
lanes.
Take a walk through their prairie paths to see the changing colors of autumn!
Glowing Leaves
What you need: pressed leaves (small), mod podge,
tissue paper, votive glass, votive candle, foam brushes.
1. Go on a family nature walk and collect leaves on your way. Press them in a phonebook. Leave for a week or until dry.
2. Tear up the tissue paper into small pieces. 3. Coat votive glass with mod podge using brushes.
4. Place pressed leaves around the glass. Cover again in mod podge.
5. Using overlapping tissue pieces, cover up the entire glass. Cover again with mod podge.
6. Let dry.
7. Place candle in votive glass, light, and admire
your leaves!
)
Suggested Reading:
"Flower Fairies of Autumn" by Cicely Mary Barker (all ages)
"I Love Fall!" by Alison Inches (baby)
"Fall" by Rodger Priddy (baby)
"It's Fall!" by Linda Glaser (preschool)
"Mouse's First Fall" by Lauren Thompson (preschool)
"Lily and Trooper's Fall" by Jung-Hee Spetter (preschool)
"Countdown to Fall" by Fran Hawe (preschool-8)
"Let It Fall" by Maryann Cocca-Leffler (3-5)
"Fall Is Not Easy" by Marty Kelly (3-5)
"The Little Yellow Leaf" by Carin Berger (3-6)
"How Do You Know It's Fall?" by Allan Fowler (3-7)
"Signs of Autumn" by Paul Humphrey (4-6)
"Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf" by Lois Ehlert (4-8)
"Every Autumn Comes the Bear" by Jim Arnosky (4-8)
"The Fall of Freddie the Leaf" by Leo Buscaglia (4+)
"Why Do Leaves Change Color?" by Betsy Maestro (5-9)
"The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z." by Kate Messner (8-12)
"Fall" by Nuria Roca (5-8)
"Autumn: An Alphabet Acrostic"
by Steven Schnur (5-8)
"Autumns Across America" by Seymour Simons (6-9)
"Autumn Moon" by Jean Craighead George (teen)
