FREE SHIPPING on orders over $60
Return to previous page

Activity: Turn a leaf

Materials:
Variety of leaves, paper squares, crayons with labels removed, hole punch, ribbon
Time:
An entire morning or afternoon
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. For each type of leaf found, place a leaf (or bunch of leaves) vein side up on a hard surface. Cover with a square of plain white paper.

3. Remove the paper label from the crayons, place them on their sides and rub over the paper. The leaf shapes will be revealed.

4. Have your child label the leaf print with the name of the tree it came from. Use a fresh piece of paper for each leaf type.

5. After making several pages of leaf prints, punch holes along one side of the pages and string them together with ribbon to create a book. As your child discovers new leaves, she can make a rubbing of it, untie the ribbons and then add the new pages to her guide book.