Every Leaf is a Flower

“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.”
― Albert Camus

It felt as though autumn snuck up on us this year, and already it seems to be fading away. We’ve had frost on the ground and nearly all the leaves have fallen from our trees. Even so, there is still time to squeeze in a few Autumn leaf projects.

To make preparation for our projects easier, we gathered and saved a bucketful of dry leaves. We may not use all of them, but having the supply on hand, even when it’s raining outside, makes project planning easier.

Maple Tree Art

The leftover leaf clippings from our Jack-o-lantern Mosaic art project were perfect for this autumn tree art project. We began with a simple drawing of a tree trunk. Then, the boys glued leaf clippings in place to create the tree’s foliage. The finished result looks wonderful.

If we do this project again, we’ll substitute coloring the trunk with crayons for using pieces of gray and brown leaves.

Download the tree trunk template.

Sorting Colors

This activity can be completed with just a few handfuls of colorful leaves.

We labeled four plastic containers to match the colors of leaves in our collection.  For our sorting activity we used red, orange, yellow, and brown (falling leaves poem). The leaves were sorted into each container based on color. Sometimes we found leaves with a wonderful mix of colors. In that case, the boys would sort the special leaf based on the dominant color.

Estimation & Counting

This is an easy to prepare activity. We began by placing a small number of leaves inside a clear plastic container (sealed with a lid).  The boys were then asked to roll and shake the container to estimate the number of leaves inside. The leaves were removed and counted by hand to discover the accurate count.  We repeated this activity with a different number of leaves each time.

At the start of the Estimation & Counting activity, we filled the container with various colors and sizes of leaves.  Eventually, we increased the difficulty by using leaves of uniform size and color.

Life Play – Autumn Clean Up

Sweeping small scraps isn’t all that exciting. Sweeping a floor full of leaves, well, that is a different story.

It’s fun to expose kids to things that are unexpected. Although not always successful, we try to keep our house clean. Dumping handfuls of autumn leaves on the kitchen floor created just the kind of unexpected we enjoy.

Initially, the boys were suspicious of the mess, but in no time at all they were having a blast.  We did need to institute one very important rule, don’t hit your brother with a broom.

When all was said and done, the real cleanup didn’t take long.

Leaf Pile

Nothing says fall like a pile of autumn leaves.  It’s another example of a no-cost-toy taking precedence over anything Toys-R-Us could offer. For the next couple of weeks, this pile will see a lot of activity.

When we’re done with the leaf pile, we’ll make compost of it for use on next years garden.

Printables

Sticking with our autumn leaves theme, a leaf coloring page. Red, Orange, & Yellow.

Download the maple leaves coloring page.