Autumn

Now that fall is beginning to change our daily environment, it has taken some explaining to Sam.  I am learning that I still need to fine tune my explanations.  Recently he pointed to a leaf that was on the ground and said, "yuck, trash." (We've been working on not touching trash that we find outside).
I explained that it wasn't trash, it was a leaf and it came from the tree above us.
He looked at me, puzzled, and asked, "down?"
"Right," I told him, "it fell down."
"Down, bang.  Ow!" he said.
"Well, no.  More like down, glide, um, float."
"Bang!"
"No bang." I tried to show him how the leaf fell.
"Ow, bang."
"Well, maybe.  You never know."

The next conversation was a week or so later when he found some more leaves on the ground at the playground.                                                                                       
"Leave... down. Back?" he asked, holding it up for me to put back on the tree.
I lifted it up and showed him how if I tried to put it back that it would fall back down.  We had to do this several times before he lost interest and found something else to do.

Yesterday we practiced crunching leaves, which he thought was very cool.  I did too, because usually when he is crunching something underfoot, it involves his snacks and then the broom, which he likes to try to use, which then becomes a more expansive mess.  As we crunched down the sidewalk I remembered walking to school for years directly through the crunchiest leaves possible.
                                               
Next up, raking.  I'll have to try to find a little rake.