We are having lots of fun with the Poppins Book Nook blog series. This month's theme was Seasons. We decided since Fall has arrived here in Georgia to focus on that as our season. Fall is one of our favorite seasons, Spring is the other. Keep reading to learn more about the 4 great books we read, fun leaf experiment, leaf journal page and art project too. The giveaway is at the end of the post!
We think Fall is delightful, don't you?
We read 4 great books Simply Science Seasons, Leaves Fall Down, Leaves and Autumn Leaves (we check this one out every year).
Fall Leaf Observation Journal Page:
I have been on a journal page making kick lately. I'm sure you can find similar ones all over the internet but my kids love it when I make special ones just for them. So I made this Fall Leaf Observation Journal Page. Download your copy here or click the picture below.
We decided it would be fun to see what trees were in our own neighborhood so we collected leaves from the backyard and our neighbors front yards. We read our books and learned all about leaves then we did some close up observing.
Pigment Science Experiment:
We had a blast learning about leaf colors with this science experiment. It was very simple to do and really helped explain ALL of the different chemical's that make up the various leaf pigments.
Chlorophyll - Green
Xantholphyll - Yellow
Orange - Carotene
Reds/Purples - Anthocyanin
Brown - Taninn
Supplies:
-Leaves - we used green, yellow, red and orange
-Jars
-Rubbing alcohol
-Coffee filters
-Hot water
-Pot
What to do:
1. Tear a leaves into little pieces and put them into separate jars. We used a variety of leaf colors.
2. Cover the leaves with an inch of rubbing alcohol.
3.Using a wooden spoon to grind the leaves into the alcohol.
4. Lightly put the lids back onto the jars.
5. Place the jars into a pot with 1 inch of hot water. I put ours on the stove for a few minutes to make sure the water was nice and hot.
6. Leave the jars in the pot for 30 minutes or more. Swirl the leaves and alcohol every 5 minutes and add more hot water as necessary to keep the temperature up.
7. After the 30 minutes your kids should notice that the alcohol is tinted. Place coffee filter strips into the jars so that the tip of the filter just touches the alcohol. Bend the other end over the edge of the jar so the filter strip doesn't slip.
8. Leave the strips in place overnight. You may be able to take them out sooner but we discovered the longer they stayed in the stronger the pigment was on the filters. Remove the strips and let them dry. You should be able to see a strip of pigment on each filter.
What to do:
1. Tear a leaves into little pieces and put them into separate jars. We used a variety of leaf colors.
2. Cover the leaves with an inch of rubbing alcohol.
3.Using a wooden spoon to grind the leaves into the alcohol.
4. Lightly put the lids back onto the jars.
5. Place the jars into a pot with 1 inch of hot water. I put ours on the stove for a few minutes to make sure the water was nice and hot.
6. Leave the jars in the pot for 30 minutes or more. Swirl the leaves and alcohol every 5 minutes and add more hot water as necessary to keep the temperature up.
7. After the 30 minutes your kids should notice that the alcohol is tinted. Place coffee filter strips into the jars so that the tip of the filter just touches the alcohol. Bend the other end over the edge of the jar so the filter strip doesn't slip.
8. Leave the strips in place overnight. You may be able to take them out sooner but we discovered the longer they stayed in the stronger the pigment was on the filters. Remove the strips and let them dry. You should be able to see a strip of pigment on each filter.
My kids decided to take the experiment one further and wanted to see if they could paint with the pigments they had extracted. To my surprise it did work a little bit.
Art Project:
We had a blast recreating our leaves with oil pastels and watercolor. Even I had to join in on the fun! Don't they look fabulous?
Materials:
-Oil Pastels or Crayons
-Watercolors
-Paper
-Various leaves
What to do:
1. Have kids pick a leaf and trace around it with a crayon or oil pastel onto their paper.
2. Next add the leaf veins with the crayon or oil pastel. Don't forget the stem as well.
3. Using watercolors have your kids add color onto their leaf. Encourage them to layer the colors and experiment with using different amounts of water to adjust the darkness of the watercolor.
4. Sign your beautiful work of art!
The kids also decided it would be fun to do leaf rubbings too!
More Resources:
-Autumn Leaves Mini Science Project
-Simple Schooling October Nature Study - Tree - Leaf - Seed
-Lots of leaf themed ideas
-More leaf crafts
-Signs of Autumn notebook page
-Leaf study close up
Here is a list of the wonderful bloggers participating in the Poppins Book Nook be sure to visit them for more fun school themed ideas:
Materials:
-Oil Pastels or Crayons
-Watercolors
-Paper
-Various leaves
What to do:
1. Have kids pick a leaf and trace around it with a crayon or oil pastel onto their paper.
2. Next add the leaf veins with the crayon or oil pastel. Don't forget the stem as well.
3. Using watercolors have your kids add color onto their leaf. Encourage them to layer the colors and experiment with using different amounts of water to adjust the darkness of the watercolor.
4. Sign your beautiful work of art!
The kids also decided it would be fun to do leaf rubbings too!
More Resources:
-Autumn Leaves Mini Science Project
-Simple Schooling October Nature Study - Tree - Leaf - Seed
-Lots of leaf themed ideas
-More leaf crafts
-Signs of Autumn notebook page
-Leaf study close up
Here is a list of the wonderful bloggers participating in the Poppins Book Nook be sure to visit them for more fun school themed ideas:
Enchanted Homeschooling Mom - 3 Dinosaurs - Monsters Ed - Chestnut Grove Academy - Growing in God's Grace - Royal Little Lambs - Life with Moore Babies - Teach Beside Me - The Usual Mayhem - Mum Central - Fantastic Fun and Learning - Kathys Cluttered Mind - Toddler Approved - Growing Book by Book - Adventures in Mommydom - B-Inspired Mama - The Fairy and The Frog - Edventures with Kids - Learning & Growing the Piwi way - A Gluten Free Journey - Preschool Powol Packets - To The Moon and Back - Our Craft ~N~ Things - Fresh Farm Adventures - Are We There Yet? -
NEW! Every month the Poppins Book Nook group will be offering readers a chance to win a brand new storybook that ties in with our theme for the month. This month one lucky winner will win a copy of Four Seasons Make A Year. The winner must reside within the United States. Just enter the Rafflecopter below to win:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Linking up with: Jay Daniel 4's Mom, Mama to 4 Blessings
13 comments:
Looks like you all had lots of fun! We loved the chromatography when we did it last year too!
What a great project! I'm sure the kids enjoyed it, too!
These sound like great learning experiences!
Entered the giveaway - Davey and Isa would like these books.
Those crafts look so fun! My kids love creating things with leaves. I entered your giveaway!
oh, fun giveaway- we are ALL about fall and leaves around here
I love the giveaway and the fall activity ideas. I really want to try the leaf dye one with my son.
oh what an awesome giveaway! I am a homschool mama, I am so going to enter this giveaway --- thanks!
This looked like a lot of fun to do! My kids would have enjoyed this as well!
What great activities with your kids!!!
We have a bagillion books... but I really don't think we have ANY fall books. Oops!
We all love fall in this house!
This is a very cute idea! Im sure my girls would love it!
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