Autumn Leaf Hunt: A Science Activity for All Ages

The fall leaves are at their prime here this week, and we have been enjoying them by going on lots of leaf hunts. These leaf hunts have been such a hit in our home, that I thought I would share in hopes that we may inspire some fall fun and learning for you and your little ones.

Books To Read:

First things first, we started by reading books about fall and the changing leaves. A few of our current favorites are "Yellow Time" by Lauren Stringer and "We're Going on a Leaf Hunt" by Steve Metzger. We made sure to read "We're Going on a Leaf Hunt" right before heading out the door to build the excitement. Since reading these and other books, my little guy has been so excited about leaf hunts that he will reference and even quote these books while on leaf hunts at parks and around our neighborhood.

What to Bring:

Before you start searching for leaves make sure you have a place to keep them throughout your adventure. I gave my son a small canvas bag to carry and hold his leaf treasures, but anything will work! Originally meant as a trick or treat bag, he now fondly refers to it as his leaf hunt bag.

Observe Your Leaves:

When we got home we spread out all of our gathered leaves and looked at them. This was a fantastic opportunity to make observations and build vocabulary. We talked about the different shapes, sizes, colors, and textures of the leaves.

Preserve Your Leaves:

Next, we chose our very favorite leaves and laminated them. We have a small laminator at home that uses 9 x 11.5in laminating pouches. It worked well for preserving our leaves.

Next, we cut out each leaf and added some magnet tape to the back. (Check out the benefits of playing with magnets here.)

A few things to keep in mind:

• Make sure leaves are not wet.
• Laminate promptly, leaves will begin to dry out and curl within hours.
• When cutting out leaves after laminating, be sure to leave plenty of buffer around the leaves. You don't want to break the seal of the laminating pouch. This is especially important for thicker leaves/stems.

Research and Label Your Leaves:

My son loves looking at and playing with his new magnet leaves in the kitchen while I prepare meals. However, we took the learning one step further and also did our best to identify and label the leaves.

We used the Google Lens feature. If you happen to use Google Photos, you should be able to use the Google Lens feature to either scan or take a photo of your leaves. It will bring up a Google search using the image. While it is not always accurate, it was super helpful and we did our best to accurately label each leaf.

I then used an embossing label maker to type up each label and my little guy stuck them onto each leaf. A permanent marker works great too, but the label maker gave him an opportunity to be involved in the labeling process.

Our leaf hunt was a fun family activity. It got us outside and we all learned something new about the trees and leaves around us. We now can continue to enjoy the fall leaves in our home for a bit longer for both play and learning. I highly recommend a family leaf hunt if you have the chance!