By Aleta Damm
The fall season is an exciting time of year! There’s so much to do—corn mazes, apple orchards, pumpkin carving, and playing in the colorful autumn leaves. The changing foliage offers a wonderful opportunity to spark your child’s creativity and curiosity.
Leaf Collecting
Fall is a great time to go exploring. Take your child outside—to the park or on a nature walk—and collect a variety of leaves. Look for ones of different sizes, shapes, and colors. Compare and contrast them; this helps build valuable academic skills. Be sure to talk with your child during the activity—communication is an important soft skill, too!
Leaf Rubbings
Leaf rubbings are a fun way to engage children while teaching them about the parts of a leaf. The materials are simple: a few leaves, crayons, and paper. Place a leaf under the paper and rub a crayon across the surface. The veins and patterns of the leaf will appear like magic! This is a great time to discuss how leaves carry water and nutrients.
Pressing Leaves
Pressing leaves is a wonderful first step for many different projects. You’ll need leaves, wax paper, and an iron. Place the leaves between two sheets of wax paper, cover with a towel, and gently iron. I prefer this method over pressing them in books, as it helps preserve their color.
If you plan to use the leaves for other crafts, skip the wax paper and iron them under a towel only—sometimes the wax can make it harder for the leaves to stick to other surfaces.
Leaf Bookmarks
Leaf bookmarks are beautiful keepsakes and make thoughtful gifts. You’ll need cardstock, scissors, pressed leaves, glue, and either a laminator or packing tape. Cut the cardstock to your desired size, then let your child arrange and glue the leaves. Allow the glue to dry completely. To finish, either laminate the bookmark or seal it with packing tape (front and back), then trim the edges.
Leaf Lanterns
Leaf lanterns make cozy autumn decorations and are perfect for a supervised craft session. I recommend using battery-operated tea lights inside them for safety.
Materials: a mason jar or other clean glass container, Mod Podge (or glue), pressed leaves, and a light source.
Apply a layer of Mod Podge to the jar, then press the leaves flat against the glass. Once the leaves are secure, brush on a final coat of Mod Podge to seal them. Let the jar dry completely, then add your light. The result is a warm, glowing fall decoration you and your child created together.
Leaf Animals
Creating leaf animals is a fun and open-ended activity. Gather a variety of leaves, along with glue, paper, googly eyes, feathers, or any other craft supplies. Encourage your child to use their imagination to turn the leaves into animals—there are no rules, just creativity!
There are so many other fall activities to explore. Get outside, enjoy the crisp autumn air, and make some beautiful memories together!