Holly did her tree study for Fall today. She went out with me and did a close inspection, recorded in her nature journal the changes that have happened, did a bark rubbing and a leaf rubbing. We had a good discussion to what changes she has found and then we talked about why those changes have happened.
We then read the book Why Do Leaves Change Color by Betsy Maestro. This was a great refresher and actually broke it down a bit further than we have before. This book included a diagram of a leaf and how it works along with discussing the richness of colors in leaves and how it relates to the amount of sugar the tree has.
After reading this book we took a walk around the yard to compare some of our trees. We looked at their colors to try and determine if they have a lot of sugar or not. As well, she collected a bunch of leaves. We brought them in and took a closer look at them and then did the classic leaf rubbings in fall colors.
This mini study came together wonderfully - she was able to make some bigger connections about the tree she is following for the year. Now we are watching closely to see how quickly her tree loses its leaves and become dormant for winter. What will winter bring be like for her tree?