October 26, 2026
There is something about the first real sign of autumn that can make us feel like children again.
For those who live in northern climates, it may begin almost imperceptibly. A coolness in the evening air. The sunlight arriving at a slightly different angle. One maple at the edge of the woods beginning to blush while everything around it is still green.
And then one day, there it is—the first red leaf.
I can still remember the excitement I felt as a child when I discovered one on the sidewalk during my regular evening walk with my grandmother after dinner.
It was only a little leaf, but to me it was a treasure.
The new color fascinated me, but so did the delicate pattern of veins running through it. I would look closely at leaves and marvel at their designs. No two seemed quite alike. In their individuality, they seemed to me almost as brilliant as snowflakes.
Perhaps that is one of the gifts of childhood. Children haven’t yet learned which things are supposed to be ordinary.
A leaf can still be extraordinary.
Autumn gives children a wonderful opportunity to become observers.
Why is that tree turning red while the one beside it is yellow? Why are some leaves already on the ground while others are still green?
There is real science hiding inside all that beauty.
As the days become shorter, trees begin preparing for winter. The green chlorophyll in their leaves breaks down, allowing yellows and oranges that were there all along to become visible. Some of those wonderful reds and purples come from pigments called anthocyanins that are produced in the leaves during autumn. Different trees—and even different weather conditions—give us a different display each year. Penn State Extension
A walk through autumn leaves can therefore become a little lesson in art, science and wonder without ever feeling like a lesson at all.
Collect a few leaves with the children. Look at their shapes. Trace the veins with a finger. Compare the colors. Find the smallest one and the biggest one. Perhaps take along a sketchbook and colored pencils.
And maybe find that one special leaf worth carrying home.
There is another lovely activity families can try together: preserving a small leafy branch with glycerin.
Instead of buying an artificial autumn decoration, children can choose something beautiful from nature and watch as it becomes something that can remain in the home long after the season has passed.
Glycerin gradually replaces some of the water within the foliage. Properly treated leaves become soft and somewhat leathery rather than simply drying until they are brittle. Different plants respond differently, so this is also a wonderful experiment to do with children. MSU Extension
The Royal Horticultural Society gives a particularly simple version: place the cut stems in a jar containing equal parts glycerin and hot water, and allow them to absorb the solution until the foliage has changed and feels leathery. RHS
How to preserve foliage with glycerine — Royal Horticultural Society
For anyone who would like more detailed instructions, including which foliage works particularly well and how to care for it afterward:
Glycerin-Preserved Foliage — Mississippi State University Extension
The finished branch becomes something more meaningful than a decoration purchased from a store.
It carries the memory of the walk when it was found, the tree it came from, the child who chose it and the season when everyone watched the world begin to change.
Living in Florida now, autumn doesn’t announce itself to me in quite the dramatic fashion it does in the Catskill Mountains. That may be one reason a photograph of those first changing leaves can still stir something so familiar in me.
It brings me back to those evening walks with my grandmother.
I don’t remember needing entertainment. I remember walking beside her. I remember looking.
And I remember that little red leaf.
Perhaps one of the loveliest things we can give children is not simply an appreciation for nature, but the habit of noticing it.
The first red leaf.
The pattern of its veins.
The coolness in the evening air.
The changing light.
Small things—but childhood memories are often made from very small things.
And perhaps, many years from now, one of today’s children will spot the first red leaf of autumn lying on a sidewalk and suddenly remember walking beside someone they loved.
With love,
The Inspired Nana
Behind KidsLifeSupplies — helping families create magical childhood memories, one little moment at a time.
