Leaf Math
Leaves are PERFECT for skip counting, sorting, seriation, and even fractions!
Need practice with counting?
You can COUNT ON LEAVES!
Nature has provided the ideal math manipulative for counting. While hiking or out in your yard or schoolyard have the children search for leaves that grow in multiples. For instance, since clover usually grows in leaves of three, it is the ideal way to learn or practice counting by three. Sweetgum leaves each have five points so they are the perfect choice for skip counting by five. Many compound leaves have leaflets that grow in multiples of two and are fun to count by twos. It is fun to challenge the children to find the most leaflets they can on a compound leaf; this helps practice estimating and counting. Remember you can always COUNT on leaves!
Sort, classify and size-oh my!
So much math to practice in a pile of leaves!
Who wouldn't delight in the sight of all these diverse leaves? Lay out an assortment of leaves and let the children use their senses to observe all their properties. Then give them time and the opportunity to sort and classify the leaves. Observe all the different ways they find to classify. They will probably come up with ways you never even thought of yourself! Some will inevitably sort by size, this is another wonderful math skill called seriation and comes naturally when playing with natural objects like leaves.
Leaf Fractions
Leaves are perfect for helping children learn fractions!
To start you can use a group of leaves as the whole of the fraction (like in the example 1/5 red) this allows children to tangibly feel and understand that 1 out of 5 or 1/5 of the leaves are red.
You can also go on a walk and have children try to estimate fractions by looking at a single tree as the whole of the fraction (like in the example we estimated that 1/3 of the leaves were orange)
Our favorite is to use a single leaf to determine what fraction of the leaf is a certain color. Sometimes it’s easy like 1/2 brown, but often it’s really challenging to think of the leaf in terms of it’s area versus as equal parts. In the example of the red and green leaves, you can see both look like they’d be about 1/5 red, but the 5 leaf points aren’t equal parts- so children would really need to use their brain with these!!
Leaves can also be drawn on or cut to help the children figure out their fractions!
