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Why Do Leaves Change In The Fall?
By J Gardener
Its one of those questions you're never prepared for. You should have been.
You knew it would come and you've already dropped the ball on so many other
important questions, like "Why is the sky blue?", "What is wind?", and "Why do
Grandma's teeth fall out when she laughs?".
Now, it's autumn and your sons at that age, when he wants to know
everything right now! And here you are, driving him home from pre-school on an
otherwise perfect fall day, and he hits you with it: "Why do trees change
color?"
You feel suddenly diminished, inadequate unqualified to be the guardian of
this budding intellect in your back seat. You're thinking of ways to distract him
long enough to dig your moldy old biology book out of the box in the back of the
garage (you knew it would come in handy, one day). You're kicking yourself for
never having the answers to these questions; your son must be getting the idea,
even at his tender age, that you're the dumbest parent on the planet. How is he
ever going to trust you with the really important stuff?
This beautiful day has become a parental nightmare you'll remember for the
rest of your life.
But guess what? You're really not as stupid as you think. You see, here it
is the-twenty-first century-and even the brightest scientists don't know exactly
all the processes involved in the changes in tree leaves!
Here's the nutshell version of what we know, with translation into simple
enough language for your son:
The green in tree leaves is this stuff called chlorophyll. Chlorophyll and
sunlight together help the trees ingest their main source of nutrition, carbon
dioxide. So, sunlight and chlorophyll are kind of like our knife and fork, and
they help the tree to eat the air that we breathe out, that's what makes the tree
grow big and strong.
In the summertime, when the sun is out for long periods of time, the tree
eats and eats until it's full. Then, in the fall, the tree gets ready for a long
nap, kind of like Uncle Frank after a big meal. The tree gets rid of the green
chlorophyll, and the real colors of the leaves come out, for a short time.
Then, in the spring, the tree wakes up, hungry, and makes new leaves with
chlorophyll, to fill itself up, again, kind of like Uncle Frank, when he wakes up
from his nap, and makes himself a big sandwich. And the chlorophyll makes the
leaves stay green, until the tree is full, again, in the fall.
See? It's easy. If you have a young child, memorize it. Not only will you be
able to keep a perfect fall day perfect, you'll also be the genius your son
expects you to be.
Until he asks that pesky question about snow... About the Author J Gardener, a writer for Imaginary Greetings, Inc. (http://www.imaginarygreetings.com), is an award winning screenplay copywriter and a regular contributing author on many family oriented issues. Imaginary Greetings offers highly imaginative personalized family oriented products and services. To learn more about how to truly light up your child's eyes this holiday season like never before visit: http://www.greetingsfromsanta.com.
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