The Reading Nook – We’re Going on a Leaf Hunt
We’re Going on a Leaf Hunt can be found in the Duplin County library system. If your local branch doesn’t have it, give them a few days and they can usually locate it for you!
Hello, and welcome back to “The Reading Nook” where the focus is using great stories to create special moments between caregivers and the young children they love.
Photo provided by Tammie Blackburn
There’s nothing quite like fall to make us appreciate and enjoy the great outdoors. The air is getting cooler, those biting pests are preparing to leave for a bit, and the colors are really starting to show their stuff. This week, the spotlight is on Steve Metzger’s book, We’re Going on a Leaf Hunt, and it’s going to be a great time as we read, explore, and collect!
BEFORE YOUR READ: Talk to your child about what they see on the cover before you tell them the title. Have them notice that each child is holding a different kind of leaf and their legs show that they’re in motion. Tell them the title and talk about what “going on a leaf hunt” may mean. Talk about places you could find leaves if you wanted to go on a leaf hunt.
WHILE YOU READ: This is a great book for having your child read or chant along with you. It’s also perfect for adding actions. For phrases like huff, puff, squish, squash, splish, splash, and plip plop, have your child make up actions to do as you read. Once they head back home running from the skunk, read faster and have them do the actions faster. The faster, the funnier! A great “stop and predict” point is when they discover something black and white. Have them talk about why children would run away so fast when they see this critter!
AFTER YOU READ:
This book takes the pattern from another popular children’s story, “Going on a Bear Hunt” and changes it for a beautiful fall adaptation. Watching the Youtube video of the original bear hunt story can be lots of fun for little ones. Here’s one good link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzIcu6tbEko
And, now, of course…it’s time to go on a leaf hunt!! Put on some good clothes for today’s weather, grab a Ziploc bag or two and take off together. If you don’t live near lots of trees, then take a drive to a local park or wooded area to do your hunting there. Collect a bagful or two to take back home.
When you get back home with your leaves, have your child count them and sort them in different ways – by color, by shape, by size, by condition of the leaf (perfect or broken, soft or crunchy, etc), or any other ways you can think of.
Photo provided by Tammie Blackburn
Depending on your child’s age, classifying the leaves and learning what kinds of trees they came from can be a lot of fun. Here’s one leaf guide of some typical local trees from diyideacenter.com. Lots of others can be found online or in your library.
Try some leaf rubbings. You’ll need plain white paper and a few crayons with the paper torn off. Place a leaf under the paper. While holding the paper still on top of the leaf, rub the side of the crayon on the paper and watch the shape of the leaf and its veins come alive! Your child may want to cut these out and glue them down to make a pretty leaf picture for the refrigerator to add to you fall decorations.
And that’s a wrap on We’re Going on a Leaf Hunt! If you enjoyed this book about fall leaves, your local library has plenty more books you may also enjoy. Here are a few of my favorites!
Photo provided by Tammie Blackburn
