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Activity: Turn a leaf

Materials:
Wooden board, small squares of muslin, thumbtacks, small hammer, ribbon
Time:
30 minutes
Skills:
Life science, sorting & classifying, art & design

Reference a nature guide and practice identifying the different leaves from the trees that grow in your region. Once you and your child are familiar with the leaves, follow these instructions and create your own guide book:

  1. Take a walk with your child and gather as many different kinds of leaves as you can find.
  2. Place a leaf on the board, cover it with muslin and tack it down with thumbtacks so that the fabric does not move.
  3. Use the hammer to pound on the leaf with consistent, even strokes.
  4. When the muslin is removed, the leaf will have left its image in green on the cloth.
  5. Make multiple muslin leaf prints, then string them together with ribbon to create a book.