A LEAF BY ANY OTHER NAME
My Southern friends who know I live in New England call me around this time every year, waxing poetic about the changing seasons and voicing their envy that I get to experience the beautiful colors of the autumn trees. I don't have the heart to tell them that the major color change on Nantucket is from summer sun to winter gray. Because our beautiful island is home to mainly scrub oaks and pines, we miss out on the flashy performance of the New England mainstay oaks, maples and elms that is Mother Nature's own Pink Floyd laser light show.

Never fear, though - where Mother Nature fails us here on Nantucket, we can step in and give her a little help. Your children don't have to miss out on the New England fall colors, and you don't have to spend hours in the car taking them "leaf peeping" to accomplish this. Spending hours in a car with a toddler should only be experienced due to emergency situations or extreme insanity. If you don't go into it a little off-kilter, you definitely will be after it is over.

A wonderful way to get your children into the fall mood is to make leaf rubbings. Don't plan on taking walks in the moors to collect leaves for this project. Your best bet is to stroll downtown. The Atheneum garden is home to some nice leafy trees. Coffin Park on Cliff Road by Something Natural is also home to some deciduous trees, and a great place for a toddler walk. The boardwalk through the park makes for a nice, smooth ride, which is important in case your toddler falls asleep during the stroll. Nothing is more annoying than having your kid fall asleep, then almost pitching them out of the stroller because of an errant cobblestone.

In order to be environmentally aware and politically correct, make sure you only pick leaves that the tree has already decided to set free. Leaves should be pliable. If you find some leaves that aren't perfectly intact, that's okay. Interesting shapes can make for an educational conundrum - can you draw in the missing part?

When you have your leaves, head on home. You will need thin paper for this craft, but not too thin. (Nothing like specificity, right?) Computer paper works well. Tissue paper can work with older children who know the meaning of the word "gentle." Don't plan on using it if your toddler is anything like mine, though. His definition of "gentle" is "don't cause a trip to the emergency room."

Crayons are good for this craft, but even better are art pastels. You can purchase a small box on island at Nantucket Office Products or Marine Home Center. Art pastels are a little easier to use because they are softer than crayons. If your child tends to be heavy-handed, pastels will work better for this project because it will reduce the chance of tearing the paper or obliterating the leaf. A light hand will produce a better leaf print, and art pastels make that possible for kids who are still learning the art of control. One caveat: once you finish this project, put the art pastels where your toddler

cannot get to them. And just in case your toddler is wondering - Holbrook said they do not taste very good.

Let your child remove the wrapping from the crayon or the pastel they are going to use. This will keep them busy long enough for you to get a cup of coffee or tea and enjoy about five minutes of solitude. Five minutes may sound like a small amount, but in my life five minutes is more than usual. Browns, oranges, yellows and reds will create an authentic autumn leaf. Let your child place the leaf under the paper. Begin moving the crayon or pastel across the paper at the point where the leaf is covered. Use the long side of the crayon, not the point you typically use. If your child finds he cannot do this without moving the paper, use tape to keep the paper steady.

Use a multitude of colors on the same leaf, even overlapping the colors.

Your child can put several leaf prints on the same piece of paper, even overlapping the prints. If they are purists, they can put one print on each piece of paper for a minimalist feel.

Once they have finished their project, display their fall leaves on the windows in their room or on a sliding glass door in the dining room. As the sun filters through their unique leaf prints, they can marvel at the beauty of autumn, knowing they helped Mother

Nature just a little bit this year. I