Teaching Children Colors, Numbers And Plant Identification With Leaves

Teaching Children about colors, numbers and plant identification can be a fun project for everyone. I believe a lot in hands on learning. Children love to touch and see different objects when they are at school or home. This can be done as a science project, introducing children to nature, or just a great get together family time.

Plant leaves come in such a variety of colors, shapes, and textures. Using these three aspects of leaves can can give a child a great visual as well as a touch and feel approach. You can do this type of project for many different ages: young children just beginning to learn colors and numbers, or Biology classes and teaching plant specimen identification. Throughout this article are ten different photos leaves. Take any variety of leaves you have in your local area. Being the expert as a teacher, parent or any other community leader, think about what you want to accomplish with each child and your main objective in the lesson plan. Take a look at the first two photos of an Oak leaf and a Maple leaf.

Oak Leaf	Maple Leaf

These two trees are very popular in so many areas of the world. The Oak and Maple leaf have similarities but also have their own unique traits. Look at the edges and the leaf structure. Think about the many varieties of Maples and Oaks. The changes in autumn color of a Red or Sugar Maple. How can you incorporate these two trees in your lesson plan?

• Go on a field trip to a nursery or grower
• Making a collage, journal, or create a story
• planting a tree
• plant seeds, plugs, and different stages to learn about the different growth patterns.

These are just a couple of ideas depending on your particular age group. The next two pictures are a group of Emerald Green Arborvitae and False Cypress leaves.

Emerald Leaves	False Cypress Leaves

These two plant leaves are a great teaching tool for texture and an assortment of colors and shapes. The anatomy of each these plant families are a great lesson in itself. The variegated leaves bring a different perspective in landscape design and projects as well. Count the needle like leaves on each group and experience the soft texture of each leaf. Use your expertise in a specific field and get creative with what you could do with the leaves. Here are a few more ideas in the article Create A Children's Garden - Teaching Them About Plants, Nature, And Having Fun. Hopefully this article will give you some additional ideas and suggestions.

Golden Euonymus	Burning Bush

Two totally different colors and styles. The Golden Euonymus is an ever green and has two toned leaves. The Burning Bush is deciduous and is green in spring and summer. In fall the leaves turn a bright sea of red. Think about the difference between these two alone as well as comparing to the others above. As you can see the Burning Bush in this picture is beginning to change color. Notice the small berries that begin to show in the fall season. Have a child follow one specific plant throughout the entire growing season. This is a great motivational project for children to experience the beginning to end process.Take a deciduous leaf as well as an evergreen and have the children observe the changes of the leaves that go along with the changes in seasons.

Variegated Juniper	Blue Owl Juniper

One plant family with two totally unique colors and appearance. This is a great teaching tool for any age group. The Blue or Gray Owl Juniper with the blue tones and long needle like leaves. The Variegated Juniper with its shorter leaves and deep yellow and green color. Have the children create comparison charts. This will show the students or your children the different trees and shrubs in this family. A great place to go is a Botanical Garden, nature trail or even around your school or home property. Staying on the property, you might be amazed at how many different leaves are around.

Purple Heart	Variegated Boxwood

The final two plants represent a flower specimen and shrub. The flower is deciduous and the shrub is an ever green. The purple color leaf in the flower is unique as well as the small two tone color of the Boxwood. Two plants with totally different shapes, colors, textures and appearances.

The world of plant leaves can open up a brand new area of teaching children about the beauty of the outside world. It doesn't matter what age you work with. You can use the leaves for plant identification, learn basic skills in color and numbers, or just create a small garden for your home or for a school project. These ten examples alone could be incorporated into a wonderful teaching tool for each child to gain knowledge of the plant world. Do you have have a favorite school project or family adventure you would like to share with others? Take a look at this article and and go ahead and share your project. Describe Your Favorite Outdoor School Project Or Family Adventure. Spend a few minutes and have your child or children share their experiences with other children from around the world. What a great way to learn about other cultures, and their school, or family projects and adventures! I would love to hear your feedback on the information provided for you in this article. Feel free to make some comments on the comment form on this website. I look forward to hearing from you.