Leaves and Ethics

Ok, so the kiddos were supposed to write about the ethics of leaves-is it right or wrong that the leaves fall off the trees? The directions were to write 1st and then paint, but the idea of painting was a little too exciting for many of them. :) I had to write what they dictated after the paint dried.

What I love about activities like this is how their creativity really comes through. Look how different each image of the leaves are. Some did blobs, some did little dots, some made patterns...each and every one is unique which I think is such an important lesson. I've been in classrooms where teachers dictate what color to make the sky, the tree, the turkey--whatever the subject is. I can't bring myself to do that because I selfishly love to see what they come up with on their own. I limited their color choices, just because it was easier to give them palettes of certain colors--but their vision was all their own!

My favorite reasoning!