Jack Frost has been busy painting the leaves bright yellow, orange, and red this fall. At least, that’s the story some people tell. The truth is the colors have been there all summer, they were just hidden by the green.
Photosynthesis slowly shuts down as the daylight hours decrease and the temperatures drop. This triggers the trees to send the sugars to the roots to store for the winter. The green color starts to fade from the leaves and the yellows, oranges, and reds are now visible.
Fall is a great time to get outside and enjoy the beauty of nature. As you explore the great outdoors why not bring some leaves home to make a leaf mandala. In its simplest form, a mandala is a circular structure with a design that radiates out symmetrically from the center. You can find natural mandalas in flowers, tree rings, the sun, eyes, snowflakes, spider webs, sea shells, seeds, fruits and more.
There is no right or wrong way to make a nature mandala which is why it is such a wonderful way to engage children to be creative. Take a walk, collect some leaves and make a beautiful leaf mandala of your very own!