What Can You Do With A Leaf?!

Leaf Surface Area - Practice non-standard measuring with leaves, great way to introduce the concept of area. Visit Kindergarten Lessons for more details and measuring ideas! PBS has a fun activity that integrates science and math. Kids shine a flashlight on a leaf and trace its shadow on grid paper to find the area of a leaf!

Leaf Symmetry - Check out the cool art project Beautiful Ideas did!

Science - Is a Green Leaf Really Green? Click here to find out! Also, check out Exploring Life Community's photosynthesis experiment!
Create a Leaf Skeleton - ehow

Descriptive Writing - "Meet My Leaf, " free printable from Scholastic
Leaf Descriptions - Set up a leaf station in your classroom. Kids work in pairs. One child describes a leaf. The other child has to find the correct leaf. This activity is a great way for kids to learn the importance of detail (adjectives) and comprehension (listening skills).

Leaf Hunt, Tally, Graph, Fractions - Classic activity that's always popular with young students. Go on a leaf hunt outside around the school yard. Have kids tally their leaves. Then, as a class, graph your findings! Afterwards, have kids write the fraction for each color found. Younger kids could also practice their patterning skills with colored leaves.

Leaf Art - Who doesn't like leaf rubbings! If kids color nicely, they could show leaf transformations for a geometry unit. Have them use one leaf and make their rubbings in different colors. Leaf texture via Jimmie Homeschool Mom - flickr commons

Is a Green Leaf Really GREEN?

Is a green leaf really green?! "Leaves have a green pigment called chlorophyll that they use to capture sunlight. But did you know that leaves also have pigments of other colors to capture colors of light that chlorophyll misses?"  How many colors are in a green leaf?"- TLC

To find out how many colors are in a green leaf, visit TLC and Herbarium for full tutorials that explain two different ways to extract the color from a leaf!

For a step by step tutorial, check out MSI Chicago!

For more photosynthesis fun, visit the Kitchen Pantry Scientist!