The children can pretend they are leaves, keeping
a stiff body. This fall story easily allows exploration of movement and
imagination.
A yellow maple leaf was hanging onto a branch,
stretching on its tiptoes and reaching up,
holding on with its hands together. The chilly autumn breeze
sailed through the tree, shaking the branches and leaves, bending
them in the middle, turning them in all directions.
The next breeze was strong enough to make the leaves turn
in circles and back again in the opposite
direction. The yellow maple leaf twisted its top half,
bending at the middle, moving in all directions as the
wind shook the branch. Suddenly, the leaf lost its hold on the branch and
floated down, down .
The wind tossed it about in the air. It appeared to be dancing,
leaping, skipping in the air. Another puff pushed it higher, as
it stretched to grab its old branch. Suddenly the breeze changed direction
and turned the leaf around, again
pushing it up, leaping up, crouching down,
twirling down, flying down. It stopped.
The wind moved on to other trees and dropped the leaf to the ground.
The leaf sat still, Testing. It
rolled up against a stick. It wiggled its toes,
feet, legs, arms, hands, and neck. The leaf was
fine . A rake came toward it and rolled the leaf into a
pile with other leaves of all types . Was it going to be burned?
The maple leaf shook with fear. It felt a human hand
move to push the leaves into a basket and carry them to a
garden. The leaves were spread on top of the garden plants and roses. The
leaf sat still, warming itself in the sun. It was
lying over a delicate rose. As the days passed, its color
changed to brown and it became dry. But it smiled and
relaxed, for it was protecting the rose from the cold
weather and the snow to come .
