Leaf Shapes

Materials:

Nature Journal, writing utensil of choice, a forest or wooded trail with a variety of tree types.

Activity:

In the woods or tree-filled park collect samples of leaves from several varieties of trees. How are they the same? How are they different? Sketch or press the leaves in your nature journals.

Younger: 

Younger children will enjoy taping the leaves into their nature journals with packaging tape (be sure to seal the edges well), tracing, or getting leaf rubbings. 

Older:

Older children will benefit from taking a more detailed approach. Encourage them to notices differences in the overall shape, the edge of the leaf, and the arrangement of leaves on the branches as well as the different shades of color.

Take it Further:

Learn to identify common trees in your area by their leaves or dig deeper and learn the scientific descriptions for each leaf shape, arrangement, and venation. For beautiful printable resources on this subject see the links below. I’ve also included a fun matching game for trees common in the US and UK.

Click the image above to find this beautiful printable set by Honeycomb Cabin on Etsy.

Click the image above to find this beautiful printable set by Brillant Bungalow on Etsy.

This resource is a fun Montessori way of learning to identify trees by their leaves.