Homeschooling Activities to to Make the Most of Fall

My family and I started homeschooling this year. Do you like how I said that? Like anyone had a say about it except me because: I am the one doing all the work and making the decisions around here. But it really is a joint effort and all.

I love the fall season. I love when the trees change colors, when pumpkins are everywhere (orange is my favorite color after all), and Halloween is almost here! This year home school has provided a great opportunity to pass this love of all things orange, I mean, love of all things fall to my children.

My oldest and I have started a "Tree Book." Probably, we should have started this book in the spring, but we weren't homeschooling then- so it really isn't my fault. We started with a nature walk to see all the colors of the season. We then collected samples of leaves from 5 different trees. We had great fun thinking of different theories as to why the different leaves changed to the colors they did, and not like- for instance- turn purple with orange poke-a-dots, or lavender with neon yellow stripes.

We used clear contact paper to preserve the leaves. Simply lay out a long of a sheet as you need to hold your leaves, remove the protective backer paper, and carefully place the leaves on the now sticky paper. Then take a second sheet of clear contact paper and after removing the backer paper, stick it on top of the existing paper, making a "Leaf Sandwich" as my oldest punk calls it. Press carefully around each leaf to ensure it is airtight. This will help preserve the leaves so you can enjoy the colors all year!

When Mr. Winter comes knocking on our door we will take photographs of the then barren trees and place them behind the carefully preserved fall leaves in our "Tree Book," then in the spring we will add samples of leaf buds, and ... wait for it! You guessed it- during summer we will collect fully grown leaves to add to our book.

We are also including pines in our book. We compare the differences between needle length and the of size pinecones each type produces. Another idea to include in the Tree Book is what types of animals use the specific tree, and how. For example the squirrel uses an oak tree for food (the acorn) and shelter. We are turning our book into a study of our local habitat and ecosystems. What a great way to get outside and enjoy the fall season!