I haven't shared much about our homeschooling endeavors lately, but Finn and I have so enjoyed the leaf unit we've been working on this week that I thought I'd show you a bit of what we've been working on. As autumn starts to cool our air and bring the slightest hint of color to our trees, Finn and I have been studying the leaves that will soon be changing and falling all around us.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyWqNDwKpjm1HXwSMPv1zW2qMk5Ck1_aprqUIw65yM6JvmJGZku6De51iWWE_wWsaQq4JUdtwR1pvSswPJ_kLiy54-l6zMB9ExGLQEhZkkeHtMFbvxlxMFShhm6CtTxDvJXvP9rTIoqAU/s550/IMG_0231-1.jpg)
Almost everything we've done this week has had a hint of autumnal leaf to it, which seems to suit Finn just fine. We've collected several leaves from our yard.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifkIwA_i1-RVsUyYV4g3mJwopqv_hUJZiCaovcQcPgDWzpSq6TDHUUETPjAGuXc6RPlsz9ZE3njiW69ozMoB5mbKnw6_7qIhKLgPe1HQLLPXW5jtZl7vOMToKcyyAXS7lv1IzpDXsB8kw/s550/IMG_0233-1.jpg)
And compared those leaves to our leaf guide.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWnmJQkhpDPhMtPhsk0tjj_VIPuJ72cf4thF9awqjPEyOiiiU9julU7NQPXAj0rK36YDk64CmgeFbv4FEUVpFPKHaPWk4vmMixkUa7Z3H5GiIwGKOrVptqiMT9FfsMNjrK8M-IPV1AriY/s550/IMG_0241-1.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRXvmbI6LPYXzwyXJVFJVgU3tjrAO7dE4IV3CYgTPCYD93r0fADL-0chrkJAgSxFhGG0F8uEaFzyNS10D1x6jP1ZK_4yCPll98Kk6S6jBT9b5W1n0rJ3voZzknqVMRU64ruBrpraxSakg/s550/IMG_0239-1.jpg)
We've made numerous crayon rubbings over leaves.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjA-kdN87Zmyh3Nq2i0PpnfnKr7bxtEHezXcKCzTcNEazPDxuTvUtBevJt7wogUjHE-N4_1f_fG_xeemWiizOoy3kfF1nxsnp9XvAMXMG8gVZ_b6TDWDioX7zmsbsaRFnLDN3tUDMAPUY/s550/IMG_0246-1.jpg)
Then we compared the rubbings to the leaves and especially looked at the vein structure to see how much showed through on the crayon rubbing.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1MY8bvlAUIHglzKYKJwETmxFSv0Ytm2N1UcX6yUbxUwEQXtRgVU5DkZipxynI6SwTgn8oNQe1L11prWTjLJX3R67OHKkxmWp6nQGcazEelR_Zutkql0z8C4UlTk305pZe_MlEqu939u8/s550/IMG_0249-1.jpg)
We baked a "leaf loaf" of sourdough bread, which we enjoyed with peach jam harvested just a few weeks ago.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpNlDBdPbxremItnf2VD-dBMl24VDM5WToP-w-DfVc6gwh_gOXgsgfzEZGZjjxXLYOFySEWg4_lE5GwckV7v5yMaEM_Uo-VBBWhjifGOg5l9RfuY_7gZS13evF0JYSD0x1ONZ9sI4Z3bU/s550/IMG_0269-1.jpg)
We colored pictures of
trees, identifying the roots, trunk, branches and leaves each with a different color.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmSn625KqF7TEq14oADog5AQS1eCwpO1yLHa7i8B6rsY1_wnlgAWy56yXfvAbq5-V2nJCLrd7zyern-TNaTo6Rkw1rUTH1X2h6XKkCHGZpU7YOLa1P5uKnkleqZeX9inU0Q51Rugxqezs/s550/IMG_0292-1.jpg)
We learned the parts of a
leaf and colored them.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcVhXOZOXR8alRtPTt7dY9Z1vhNwUS4kiAlLR-mqDQkhSmT9rCMExkw6XVY2ce_jiOT7Q5xmhqEauuObPq2T5eriN5kvmoMa2bt1s8559w2ISwGvd04qnsp0Bglz5-hPrQq_eK5OY9xSg/s550/IMG_0295-1.jpg)
Finn can read the word
tree so we made a
worksheet for him to read and practice writing
tree. (Finn loves worksheets and flies through them as quickly as I print them, but I try to keep them on topic and relevant to what he is learning so that he continues to enjoy them.)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihE3UxWV7_odi62INRmU-yfrG81_ks6J_Q9RRGTrIvgCtPGeXCF8coKSNT4nFWGGe63AUJMUE2nDvEMcNZfK1yBQHfXXuYqxE-qsKkL28aAVevT41FSREC6l8pQXLmtZoQKXW_6F_T9vo/s550/IMG_0304-1.jpg)
We did some wet-on-wet watercolor painting of leaf colors and then traced one of our maple leaves on the dried painting.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrX4jxB05OJmYpX06gR-ArNsLYCf7ATZF8tRiUE2oWTF04dx2-3qeGIDcQSgCeR5lrUepvkp_LVflpslOsR9TobkTuU3OzJZ3C3zmQeLN6j8kT5ouJeBcx_FyTr8EL05rA_JFS_9f9pQ4/s550/IMG_0297-1.jpg)
Finn drew veins on his watercolor leaves.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJWQAEjhjt36_4aCcXOYAr-pd_b2JcpHGk5lbOUNxtNZk48LDBMe9R6Mhqiq7jiP-s72jFmwT-i_gKJk2EnRh8o8tvy_GVhTadY7-IhgPmWDB0Nb5kffLSoV0xDiXcc9kv33jz5WkohkI/s550/IMG_0301-1.jpg)
And we hung the watercolor leaves in the window over the nature table.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFh43RZkifCX5FCDE8NtKUx0FI6ZSS812A8e9-sVbAiLecfAyUDcH1hTcDU_lmV-NqBNiSm0hX9gWg6ya8yPlnOLHPcxaylaXeE08s3RtnqLwnvZY8gyhwdUpkYJvSRKlBPm_mCZ5vbVo/s550/IMG_0302-1.jpg)
This time of year seems to inspire so much learning and creativity. I think we might extend our leaf learnin' for another week and find more fun leaf projects to enjoy.