While hiking in the woods with Mr. Cooper, the students gathered a large collection of leaves. When they arrived back in the room, we weren’t quite sure what to do with them. (I was pretty sure that placing 20 to 30 leaves in each child’s back pack might make for a bit of a hectic evening for you all!) Then, we realized that they would make a lovely mural for our room. Each child choose how they were going to adhere the leaves to the paper and placed in a flurry of activity. It was wonderful to see them all working together on such a large project without any squabbling or worry over ownership. The children talked as they worked and solved design problems as they went. When leaves didn’t stick properly, other children offered kind advice. When an empty spot in the mural was noticed, it was quickly filled. There were also lots of conversations regarding the shapes and colors of the leaves. Now we’ll have to see if we can find any unrepresented varieties on the playground!
