Monday 12 October 2015

Home School - Stained Glass Leaf Window


This is the second post following our Autumn theme in Home School this term. Our first was how we have a family tradition of foraging and harvesting fruits, specifically Blackberries

This post is to do with the nature around us.

We love going on little walks and exploring what is around us. I wanted this term to show the boys the changing aspects within the season; specifically the changing colours of the leaves.


We decided to go on our first Autumn hunt. In this the objective was to find as many different coloured leaves as possible.



Each time we stopped we explored what colours we have found and the shape and sixe of each leaf.


The boys quickly worked out that some leaves were the same shape and colour where others would vary; some could be the same shape but a different colour.

We ended up collecting as many different colour and shapes as we could and filled a bag.

 

Once we were home we explored why there are different colours.

This part is quite simple and links quite well with our previous autumn investigation: harvest.

During winter, there is not enough light or water for photosynthesis. The trees will rest, and live off the food they stored during the summer. They begin to shut down their food-making factories. The green chlorophyll disappears from the leaves. This then allows the other colour pigments to shine through; something that each leaf has all along, it's just that the green pigment is stronger.

So just like us the trees have been using these materials to store and survive over the winter.

The next part of the activity was to stick our leaves up against a window; the best type is the window that gets the most sunlight!

We didn't want to get too messy or to damage our windows so we just used blue tac on the back of each leaf and pressed it hard against the pane.
(Pressing the leaves done and using enough blue tac is really important. Over time each leaf will slowly rot; within this process the leaves will naturally curl in on themselves.)



We tried to use some of the bigger leaves to start and fill as much space as possible. We then used the smaller ones to fill in the gaps.


As you can see, this by itself is beautiful and really shows the full array of colours and shapes.

The best part though is waiting for the sunlight to be at its brightest and at that point it will shine through and produce a Stain Glassed window affect.


Like a lot of our Home School topics you can see how well this can be adapted as a family activity and doesn't really need to be specifically aimed for Home Schooled children. So have some family fun, go on a Autumn Hunt and find some leaves and give it a go.


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13 comments:

Hannah said...

I am going to do this! What fun and hey, I learnt about leaves today haha so I can pass it on too!

El said...

What a clever idea! I would have never have thought of that and it looks stunning! At first glance, I did think it was a stained glass window. I'll try with my youngest-he loves doing things like this. Best part- so easy to clean up! Thanks for sharing. #abitofeverything

Unknown said...

This is a terrific idea. The boys look like they're loving it too. What a great way to get them excited about learning #abitofeverything

Lady Nym said...

That looks great! I think a lot of the leaves in our garden are a bit too opaque for this to work quite as well but is perhaps worth a try.

#abitofeverything

Tracy said...

Those leaves look amazing in the window! Lovely post! #abitofeverything

Martyn Kitney said...

Yay! Give it a go and let me know how you get on.

Martyn Kitney said...

Thank you. That's the thing it looks fab but at the same time it's easy for children to do! And easy to clean up!

Martyn Kitney said...

Thank you. They loved it! And found it really interesting

Martyn Kitney said...

Thank you. We found the same so we went out to find some. It's an easy way to keep kids entertained for longer.

Martyn Kitney said...

Thank you Tracy. We love them!

Martyn Kitney said...

Thank you! We loved it. :)

Helen - Blogging Beautifully said...

I just think this is such a lovely yet simple idea, it's been raining so much here over the last few days but I'm hoping it will dry up so we can go and collect some leaves :) Thanks for linking up to the #bestandworst see you again! x

thisiswhereitisat said...

What an ace idea and how lucky to have a creative daddy X