While crisp fall weather and colorful foliage aren’t the first things that come to mind here in the desert, that’s exactly what you’ll find in Arizona’s high country. A good time to view fall foliage in Arizona is from early to mid-October. On the San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff, changing leaves can herald autumn’s arrival as early as mid-September. The drive through Oak Creek Canyon is absolutely beautiful during fall foliage season, and Oak Creek’s popular West Fork trail is an easy walk for everyone from toddlers to seniors. There are plenty of other pockets of fall color around the state, too – in the White Mountains, around Globe, and in the “Sky Islands” of southern Arizona, for example.
Trees shut down their systems for winter just like hibernating animals do. Food nutrients move slowly out of the leaves and into the tree’s branches, trunk and roots to prepare for freezing temperatures. As the green chlorophyll pigmentation disappears, various other hues such as yellow and orange become visible. A combination of warm, sunny days and cool but not freezing nights are ideal conditions for producing spectacular fall colors. The colors and their timing varies from one location to another depending on the combination of light and shade the tree receives. Moisture and chemicals contained in the leaves also affect the brilliance of autumn colors. As the leaves dry out, they fall or are blown by the wind onto the ground. They help protect grasses and other plants by holding in warmth and moisture through the winter.
Autumn Activities
Leaf Mobile - Make your own fall leaves! Glue different colorful fabrics to both sides of several pieces of heavy paper. Cut leaf shapes from this. Put a string on each leaf. Tie the leaves to a small branch. Hang it where the leaves will flutter in a breeze.
Aluminum Foil Leaves - Set out square pieces of aluminum foil and a variety of leaves. Place a leaf under a piece of foil. Gently press and rub the foil with your hand to get a leaf print. Glue each leaf print onto a piece of construction paper.
Leaf Rubbings - Place a variety of leaves (underside up to show the veins) under a piece of plain white paper. Using the sides of crayons (with the paper coverings peeled off), make rubbings of the leaves.
Pressed Leaves - Collect some colorful fall leaves. Place them between two sheets of paper and set a heavy book on top. After the leaves have dried, use to make a fall leaf book or decoration.
Waxed Leaves - Collect some colorful fall leaves. Arrange them on a sheet of wax paper, and cover with another sheet of wax paper. Adults: Put a sheet of newspaper on top and using an iron on the wool setting, gently iron the two pieces of wax paper together. After ironing, you can cut around the individual leaves or attach the entire collage to a hanger of some kind and hang or tape the leaves in your window.
Nature Collage - Go on a fall nature walk and pick up items that have fallen off trees (leaves, twigs, nuts, pinecones, pine needles, etc.). Arrange your findings in a shoebox, create a collage, or make a fall wreath.
Autumn Leaf Snacks – If you have a leaf-shaped cookie cutter, you can make leaves from yellow, red and orange gelatin or leaf cookies decorated with red, orange, yellow and brown frosting.
Books
“Autumn: An Alphabet Acrostic,” by Steven Schnur.
“Every Autumn Comes the Bear,” by Jim Arnosky.
“I Am a Leaf,” by Jean Marzollo.
“Look What I Did With a Leaf!” by Morteza E. Sohi.
“Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf,” by Lois Ehlert.
“When Autumn Comes,” by Robert Maas.
Web Sites
www.sciencemadesimple.com/leaves.html (A simple explanation of why leaves change color.)
www.esf.edu/pubprog/brochure/leaves/leaves.htm (Detailed explanation of how leaves turn color.)
http://scifun.chem.wisc.edu/chemweek/fallcolr/fallcolr.html (The chemistry of autumn colors.)
www.education-world.com/a_lesson/lesson024.shtml (Photosynthesis and fall lesson plans.)
www.kidzone.ws/plants/index.htm (Autumn leaf online activities.)
www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/fall (Autumn crafts and printables.)
www.childfun.com/themes/fall.shtml (Autumn crafts, activities, songs and poems.)
www.annieshomepage.com/fallfun.html (Annie's fall fun kid's page.)
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