Going on a leaf Hunt
Depending on your children’s age, we recommend doing an outdoor story walk using the book Going on a Leaf Hunt by Steve Metzger.
If children wish to collect leaves on their hunt, check out these fun ways of collecting leaves!
LEAF HUNT GAMES-
‘Find that Leaf’ Game
Teacher/parent collects an assortment of leaves from different trees and therefore leaves of different shapes, textures and colors, from an area you plan to walk with the group. You can then either string each leaf onto a string or piece of yarn and tie them like necklaces or just hand a leaf to each child.
*If you string the leaves, be sure to keep them separated so you don't end up with a tangled mess & if feel free to laminate the leaves to play the game again!
The children are each given a leaf or leaf necklace to wear and asked to locate the specific tree they think their leaf came from as they walk.
This game entices the players to look up and take notice of the different trees in the area of the walk. It hones observation skills and helps connect the group to the natural space. It helps you recognize that there is a wide variety within each species of tree. (Did you know there are at least 600 different types of oak tree in the world?) It is fun to recognize how happily one tree can live and thrive next to a totally different type of tree- a good lesson for diversity in a complicated world.
Did you find a super cool leaf?!
Enter your awesome leaf into our leaf contest. Simply email your leaf image to explore@learningwithoutdoors.com with a leafy title and your general location. The contest is entirely free with no catch, our goal is to get people outdoors and admiring nature’s beauty! Submissions are due by November 1st and voting ends November 11th. The winner get to choose their prize(s)!
Fun for all ages! Learn more here.
