Fall. It’s such a beautiful time of year when the leaves change beautiful colors of gold, orange, and red. If you’re from the north, you remember those days, the beautiful colors, and the cool weather starting to set in. It started to get me thinking, children growing up here in south Florida may never get to experience the seasonal changes live and in person. And that’s when I came across a Twitter post from Lake Trafford Elementary School and was reminded, once again, of just how amazing our CCPS staff can be! Thanks to the creativity and resources of media specialist Alma McDermott, students at Lake Trafford Elementary School are getting to view and explore real leaves – straight from the New England area – up close and personal. Alma reached out to her northern friends and, sure enough, they came through for her—and her students! Right there in Lake Trafford’s media center, there are leaves from Connecticut and some from the Boston area. They are sealed and pressed in plastic with the names of the trees so the students can learn all about nature up north—while enjoying the beautiful array of colors! But it’s not all about the beauty. In addition to the amazing leaf display, there are corresponding books for the students to read. And Alma also visits classrooms to offer hands-on lessons for some of the younger students. They get to explore the leaves, they’ll read a book together as a class, and the students even pretend to be leaves! While seasonal changes may not happen here in south Florida like they do in other parts of the country, I’d say our CCPS staff members are doing a great job of bringing these lessons into our classrooms.