Four Winds Nature Institute
4 Casey Rd. Chittenden VT 05737
802-483-2917 www.fourwindsinstitute.org
LEAVES: Substitute K-2 Puppet Show
Characters: Dandelion, Foxtail Grass, Common Mullein, Pine Needles, Maple Leaf
Props: large magnifying lens with grass leaf pictured on one side and dandelion leaf pictured on the other
Dandelion
Hey you, would you mind moving over a bit,
please? I can’t get any sunlight.
Foxtail Grass
I’d like to but I can’t. I’m rooted to this spot!
Maybe you could grow a bit higher?
Dandelion
I don’t know, let me give it a try…ugh, ugh.
This is going to take some time.
Foxtail Grass
Hey, that breeze is blowing me over a bit. Is that
any better?
Dandelion
Much better! My leaves really need sunlight.
Foxtail Grass
Mine too! They need it to make food so I can
live and grow and make flowers and seeds.
Dandelion
That’s just why my leaves need sunlight too!
Our leaves are like food factories for the plant.
Foxtail Grass
Yeah! And for all the insects that eat us too.
Dandelion
Yeah – that kinda BUGS me!
Your leaves are so skinny, how do they ever get
enough sunlight to make your food?
Foxtail Grass
Oh, getting enough sunlight’s not the problem
for us grasses, but getting dried out by the sun –
now that can be a problem. Skinny leaves don’t
lose as much water as wide leaves do.
Dandelion
My leaves are wider, but it’s damp down here
near the ground so drying out isn’t a problem.
Foxtail Grass
My leaves have smooth edges but your leaves
are kind of scary-looking – like jagged teeth!
Dandelion
Those just help the water drip off so I won’t rot.
Foxtail Grass
My leaves need water to make food – they get it
through their veins. I can see you have veins too.
Dandelion
I wonder if they’re the same. Here, I’ll get my
magnifying lens and take a look. (holds up lens
with grass leaf) Wow! Your veins run right next
to each other like train tracks.
Foxtail Grass
Yeah. They’re called parallel veins, but they
could be called “train veins!” Let me see yours.
(Hold up lens with dandelion leaf) Yours are
different, like branches on a tree, or a feather!
Dandelion
Yeah – that’s why my veins are called pinnate –
it means, “feather-like.” Hey, I have an idea.
Let’s see what other kinds of leaves we can find.
Only I’m too low. I can’t see anything.
Foxtail Grass
Here’s that breeze blowing me over again. Can
you see now? (grass exits, mullein enters)
Dandelion
Oh yes, now I can see. Why, hello, I haven’t
met you before. You’re a tall flower, but you
don’t have any leaves!