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Leaf Graph

Today we took a nature walk and picked up some leaves. The leaves are just gorgeous right now in Tennessee. We were able to find green, red, yellow, brown and orange leaves. I encouraged Jake to pick up only the ones he loved, the ones he thought were beautiful!
We picked about 30 leaves or so before heading home. Once at home I had a graph ready for us to do as an activity. Jake was not into it too much and decided that he needed to cut the stems off of the leaves before we could start the graph.
I thought this was a great idea, he would practice motor skills and use his focus to settle down a bit after the walk. He loves cutting so I told him to just cut the stems and not the leaves.
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Next, we sorted the leaves and started the graph. I held the brown leaves and moved one in front of him as he colored each box. I did it this way at first to help him understand a graph and what how we create one. (Excuse the scribble on the paper. He did that as he was waiting for me to get started.) This leaf graph was created by 2 Teaching Mommies you can find it here.
When we got to the green, Jake insisted on using marker. I outlined the boxes and asked him to make sure to stay within the lines. Markers can easily take over a paper. I HATE markers but Jake, like all kids, love them and really tries to use them whenever he can. 
Here is the finished product! He is getting much better at coloring within the lines. Of course he is not there yet but it is getting better. I think he really understood the graphing concept which surprised me a little. I asked him to look at our graph and tell me which color we had the most of and least. He answered without hesitation. I would not be surprised to see him "graphing" when he is playing in the coming days. 
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