An Autumn Morning at Kerrisdale Montessori Academy

Crunch, crunch. The fallen leaves crackled under the children’s feet as they played around the tree stump. A few leaves slid across the ground with each step.

Then the children looked up and spotted the little red birdhouse hanging from the tree. They watched the round opening, looking for a bird. There wasn’t a bird inside, but there was one little spider. It crawled out, slipped back in, and a moment later, out it came again. The children kept their eyes on the doorway, waiting to see where it would go next.

Soon they were back among the leaves, picking up the ones that caught their eye. One child held up a leaf that was golden yellow near the stem and burnt orange along the edge. In their small hand, you could see the fine lines branching all the way to the tip.

A little farther on, the leaves began to crunch again.