Hubs and I were out exploring the woods this last weekend, when I noticed a maple tree. The leaves on this tree were quite possibly the largest maple leaves I have ever seen. They were easily larger than my head and quite beautiful. I knew I had to catch a few photographs of the leaves.
With the first photo, I held an un-fallen leaf up to try and capture the sheer size of it. With the second one, I let it go, and snapped a picture of the leaves as they hung. Of course, I had to adopt a funny angle to get the picture, but it was well worth it to me.
This photo of the un-fallen leaf is one of my favorite photos of the Autumn season this year.
I am not certain which type of Maple tree this one was, although I am inclined to guess it is a Red Maple given the “teeth” along the margins of the leaves. The Red Maple also typically has leaves that are two to six inches wide. I am convinced that this one was at least seven or eight inches at the widest point, but I could be wrong. I was tempted to pull the leaf, and bring it back to Mister and Sister, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. It still had quite a bit of life left in it, judging from the stem.
While I didn’t pluck this particular leaf for my kids, we have enjoyed leaf rubbing from the fallen leaves in our back yard. I try to think of creative ways to make learning fun for them, and they really like doing the leaf rubbings. I also have two books on the life cycle of plants that I read to them. The two that I have now are From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons and How a Seed Grows by Helene J. Jordan. From Seed to Plant is a more technical read and contains a bean seed project that the kids can duplicate (if their mother didn’t have a black thumb). How a Seed Grows also has a seed science project in it. It is more colorful and has great illustrations.
I do have a couple of books on my list that I would like to get, to ramp up the fun aspect of learning about plants. One book on my list is The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle. I just love all things Eric Carle. His books are magical and make learning virtually osmotic. The second book is Champ and Me by the Maple Tree by Ed Shankman. The story of Champ and Me by the Maple Tree caught my eye when I was web browsing one day. I think my kids would like the monster in the story.
What books and/or projects would you recommend for teaching about life science to young children?
Very pretty!
Those are so pretty. I was walking my daughter to school and saw leaves and thought – I ought to take pictures of them they are so pretty! Glad you did!
Those pictures of the leaves are beautiful.
Thanks!
Wow – that is a huge leaf!! I miss the changes in season….
That’s a big leaf! We’ve been having beautiful fall weather here in Virginia. I love watching the leaves change color. I never got to see that when I lived in Louisiana. They just went from green to brown.
My bucket list includes a trip to the East Coast in the fall, to see the changing leaves!
They certainly look HUGE! They remind me of the sycamore trees my parents had in their front yard. They shed leaves like crazy!
Beautiful photos! It is amazing the beauty you can find when you take the time to look around.
Pretty pics!
I think one of the coolest things you can do for kids is teach them about nature- what kinds of trees, nuts, uses etc… they carry it with them always!
I looked in one of my closets. When I get upstairs, I’m going to look in the other. There was a book I used to read with my late daughter when she was 2-3 years old. It was about …
Errr….I just thought of it! It’s called “A Tree is Nice”. That is one of my favorites. We read it over and over. Then we went out and bought a tree and did just like the people in the book did to plant it. It was a story of “first you dig a hole”, etc. We took the book and the shovel outside and followed it. I strongly suggest getting the book.
I was actually back in the old neighborhood about a year ago and went to check in on the tree.
It speaks to me in a grand way.
Also…I am going to tell you a funny story one day about Olivia and her baldness. Guaranteed to make you chuckle :)
It looks HUGE! What lovely photos!
great photo shot I’d frame it.
wow, that is one HUGE leaf!
Wow that thing is huge!
Absolutely beautiful!!
Great pictures! :)
wow, that’s one big leaf!
How amazing and for you to be able to capture the size of it in a photo is TALENT! This makes me wish I lived in the country.
I haven’t seen a leaf that big before, love the pics!
Love the pictures! Fall is my favorite season so seeing this makes me extra happy :)
Kindra
skbaron04@hotmail.com
Great pic.