Hands-On Activities

Whether you live in a place where the trees fall leaves will soon be exploding with color or not this is a great time of year to learn about leaves.

Kids want to know why and how they change color and why other areas don’t have as much color.

Some of us stay green year round but we can still appreciate the red, gold, and brown spectacular through pictures or even vacations where we venture north to see it.

Fall is still a great time to study leaves and trees.

Dollar Tree Stained Glass Materials

You can turn a simple leaf appreciation into a mini unit study with this stained leaf fall craft and a few fun hands-on ideas.

I have loads of ideas for you to get started with a unit study.

As always, I like to start a unit study by gathering up some books on the topic at hand, from our own collection, the library, or of course Amazon.

• The Tree Book for Kids and Their Grown-Up
• Nature Anatomy: The Curious Parts and Pieces of the Natural World
• Leaf Guide

And one of the best parts besides learning about leaves is that the craft materials are all at Dollar Tree for just a few bucks.

Then look at some fun ideas for studying about leaves.

Hands-on Leaf Activities

• Go on a leaf hunt and find as many leaves as you can, use books or the Leaf Snap App to help identify them.
• Go on a nature walk around the neighborhood, your property, local, or state park to look for as many species as you can find.
• For older children you can have them memorize Robert Frost’s Nothing Gold Can Stay or use it for copywork.
• Make leaf rubbings by putting fall leaves under paper and rubbing across it with the side of a crayon.
• Make a list of trees and have your child sort them by the two main types- Deciduous and Coniferous.
• Label the parts of a leaf.
• Leaf Man

And older children can draw and label a leaf cell.

This fall craft is great for preschool through high school.

Kids Stained Glass Fall Leaves Craft

You will get a wide variety of looks from the different skill sets but they all come out looking so pretty and you will cherish their craft.

Look at this list of supplies. You will need:

• A glass vase, bowl, mug, or candle holder.
• Fall colored craft paints
• Black craft paint
• White school glue
• Paintbrushes
• Small containers for each paint color
• Battery operated tea lights

Put about a teaspoon of glue and half that of all the chosen colors into each of your containers.

Stir in just a few drops of water to thin it.

You don’t want it watery just a little thinner to make it spread more easily.

Clean the glass container well with glass cleaner to remove any dirt or oils from your hands, be sure to dry it completely.

Paint splotches of color all over the glass until its completely filled. You don’t want any empty spaces.

If you want to make it look like leaves go ahead, but it is not necessary.

Just do them different shapes and sizes for variety.

We will sharpen up those edges later.

Once the entire surface is painted in color allow it to dry completely.

It really only needs about an hour.

Here is a look at mine completely dry and if you add less paint to the first step you will get an even more translucent look.

Then, you will need a half empty bottle of glue. Dump some out into something with a lid if you need to.

Add some black craft paint into the bottle and shake until combined and it is a nice black color.

This next part is really fun and makes the design come together.

Open the lid of the glue only halfway so that you get a finer stream of glue.

Have your child trace the blobs of paint outlining everything to clean up the edges and create the leaded look of stained glass.

Other Fall Unit Study Resources

Next, add details like the veins, the stem, and the midrib (the line up the middle).

• Fall Y’all:Pumpkin Pie in a Bag (Easy Homeschool Co-op Idea)
• Kids Fun Pumpkin Catapult Stem Challenge for Medieval Unit Study
• Easy Fall Crafts for Middle School: DIY String Pumpkin Art
• Kids Fun Glue and Watercolor Fall Pumpkin Unit Study

Let this part dry completely.

Insert a tealight and its ready to glow!

You can enjoy this fall craft on it’s own or make it part of a mini unit study. Let me know if you did and share your creation with me.

Nothing speaks fall or September more than a fun hands-on apple unit and making dried apples. Add this hands-on activity to my fall unit apple study.

Incorporating cooking into your homeschool is an easy and fun way to include many subjects naturally into the day.

There is so much learning to be had in even the most simple of recipe.

For fall I thought I would share a delicious dried apple ring recipe.

What is so great about teaching kids to cook? First, they learn to read and follow directions.

Also, they get a lesson in fractions.

Cooking is a Life Skill

Too, cooking boosts a child’s confidence and encourages picky eaters to try something new.

Besides, learning how to cook teaches a child about nutrition.

And introduces science through the various reactions that cooking produces and can strengthen family bonds, teaches responsibility and builds attention skills.

Cooking can be done with everyone from toddlers to highschoolers making it a great family or co-op activity.

So aside from those benefits this recipe opens the door to an opportunity to talk and learn about apples.

It makes a great hands-on start up to a mini apple unit.

Add in some great books, a little apple math, and a few other activities and you have yourself a great mini unit study.

Apple Study Resources

Julia Rothmans anatomy books are great for creating your own unit study.

And both of these books, Food Anatomy and Farm Anatomy, have a great little section on apples.

I highly recommend you add them to your library.

Not only are they pretty reference books but great snippets of information.

Who Was books also make a great addition for reading aloud or independent reading.

Who Was Johnny Appleseed is perfect for this study.

Unit Study Ideas for Apples

Then, here more ideas for a unit study besides the ones on my apple unit study page.

Art Apple Idea.

For art create a picture of a cross section of an apple with watercolor or chalk.

Have your child label the parts of the apple. Toddlers and preschoolers can use half an apple to stamp with paint.

Math Apple Idea.

Use fresh apples to weigh, measure, test density, cut them up and work on fractions, compare apple prices in the grocery flier.

Science Apple Idea.

Make a volcano in a cored out apple with baking soda and vinegar.

Test the ability of various liquids to keep apples from turning brown and test your five senses by using them to sample apples.

Geography/History Apple Idea.

Learn about Johnny Appleseed, research where the most apples are grown and mark it on a print out map.

How to Make Easy Dried Apple Slices

Next, let’s make this fun hands-on activity.

If you want to use your dried apple slices for a craft like potpourri, a dried apple garland or wreath instead of eating, simply leave the sugar out of the mixture.

Once dried you can add fragrance or essential oils to them to make the scent stronger.

Choose your favorite variety but some of the best apples for baking are :

• Gala
• Honeycrisp
• Pink Lady
• Fuji
• Red or Green Delicious

You will need:

• 4 medium-large apples
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 tablespoons lemon juice ( about 1 lemons worth)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 225℉. First decide if you want your peel on.

If not go ahead and peel your apples. We left ours on for all the additional nutrients.

Slice your apples very thinly.

You can do this with a knife or a mandolin which is a wonderful kitchen gadget to have for slicing fruits and veggies thin and uniform.

The easiest and safest way for kids to core apples is by slicing them then laying them out on a cutting board and using a lid from a water or soda bottle to cut out the center.

Stir together cinnamon, sugar, vanilla, and lemon juice.

Place your apple slices in a gallon ziplock bag and pour the mixture over the top.

Shake the bag and move the apples around gently until they are completely coated in the mixture.

Place apples in a single layer on baking sheets, 4 apples should take up about 2 large baking sheets, maybe 3.

Bake for  2  to 2 ½ hours until the edges curl up and they are lightly browned. You want pretty much all the moisture out of them.

Store in an airtight container. They are good for up to a week on the counter.

Other Fall Unit Study Resources

• Free Fall Unit Study Ideas– For Older Kids Too
• Easy Fall Crafts for Middle School: DIY String Pumpkin Art
• Kids Fun Glue and Watercolor Fall Pumpkin Unit Study