Materials
Colorful autumn leaves
leaf presses or heavy books
construction paper
markers or pencils
lamination sheets
glue
Instructions
1. Explain to the children that they are going to do an activity that focuses on
colorful autumn leaves and forest animals that they see in the fall.
2. Discuss with the children the types of animals that they might see in the forest
in the fall. Also, discuss the different colors of leaves and why leaves change
colors.
3. If you have access to a wooded area, take the children for a walk to collect
autumn leaves. If not, ask the children to collect leaves at home and bring
them to school. Ask the children to collect between 10 and 20 large, colorful
leaves. If they choose to collect smaller leaves, ask them to collect more.
4. Demonstrate how to use the leaf presses to flatten and dry the leaves. If you
don't have access to leaf presses, use several heavy books instead.
5. It will take several days to a week for the leaves to completely dry. During this
period, remind the children to think about their favorite forest animal.
6. Once the leaves are completely dry, remove them from the leaf presses.
Note: If the leaves are not completely dry, they will leave moisture marks
when laminated.
7. Encourage the children to draw a large picture of their favorite animal that
they can see in the fall.
8. Next, tell the children to completely cover their animal with a thin layer of glue.
9. Encourage the children to crunch up the various colors of dried leaves and
make several different colored piles of "leaf litter."
10. The children can sprinkle the leaf litter over their drawing to serve as the color.
11. Allow the project to completely dry. Then, laminate it to make the colors come
alive. The children will be thrilled with how colorful their projects turn out.
