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This would be a great art activity to follow a reading or Leaf Man!

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A fun project for fall is to go to a park or other place with lots of trees and collect fall leaves. But then, what to do with the leaves? How about making leaf collages?

Inspired by two books, we set out to make a colorful collection of characters using fall leaves as our main material. See how they turned out!
Note: For more leaf activities, see my Botany Unit Study page.
Our inspiration for this activity came from reading two different books (both of which are reviewed in my post on children's books about leaves):

The first was Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert. This book has a simple story told mainly with pictures created from leaves.

The second book was Look What I Did with a Leaf! by Morteza E. Sohi. This book features some AMAZING leaf collages! Older kids will be seriously inspired by this book.

After reading these books, we decided to try our hand at making our own leaf collages.

We spent some time in our neighborhood and at a local park collecting a wide variety of fall leaves. We selected leaves of many different colors, sizes, and shapes.

To add a bit of fun to our leaf collages, I set out some adornments to use along with our leaves, including sequins, wiggle eyes, pom poms, and buttons.

We each selected a colored piece of poster board for creating our leaf collages. And then we set to work, allowing the shapes, colors, and sizes of the leafs to inspire our creations. And once we had the right design, we glued it down to preserve.

Here is a look at some of our leaf collages:

A face with a leaf crown and earrings. . .

A free form design completed with penciled drawings on the poster board. . .

A simple face using nothing more than a leaf and some wiggle eyes. . .

A fish. . .

A leaf man. . .

Such creativity, and such fun! This was a great project to do with fall leaves.
For more leaf activities, see my Botany Unit Study page and my Leaves Unit Study Pinterest board.
More resources for learning about leaves

More leaf posts from Gift of Curiosity:

Follow Katie @ Gift of Curiosity's board Unit Ideas: Leaves on Pinterest.

Products mentioned in this post:

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Fall art project for kids: Leaf collages

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This post may contain affiliate ads at no cost to you. See my disclosures for more information. A fun project for fall is to go to a park or other place with lots of trees and collect fall leaves. But then, what to do with the leaves? How about making leaf collages?

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The easiest way to follow your favorite blogs

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International Observe the Moon Night is a time to come together with fellow Moon enthusiasts and curious people worldwide. Everyone on Earth is invited to learn about lunar science and exploration, take part in celestial observations, and honor cultural and personal connections to the Moon. We encourage everyone to interpret "observe" broadly!

International Observe the Moon Night occurs annually in September or October, when the Moon is around first quarter ― a great phase for evening observing. A first-quarter Moon offers excellent viewing opportunities along the terminator (the line between night and day), where shadows enhance the Moon's cratered landscape.

You can join International Observe the Moon Night from wherever you are. Attend or host a virtual or in-person event, or observe the Moon from home. Connect with fellow lunar enthusiasts around the world through our Facebook page, #ObserveTheMoon on your preferred social media platform, and the International Observe the Moon Night Flickr group.

Outdoors, at home, online, or wherever you may be, we're glad to have you with us. However you choose to observe, please follow local guidelines on health and safety.

Goals of International Observe the Moon Night:

1. Unite people across the globe in a celebration of lunar observation, science, and exploration.

2. Provide information, a platform, and resources in order to:

Raise awareness of NASA's lunar science and exploration programs.

Empower people to learn more about the Moon and space science and exploration, using Earth's Moon as an accessible entry point.

Facilitate sharing of Moon-inspired stories, images, artwork, and more.

Inspire continued observation of the Moon, the sky, and the world around us.

Support all people who are interested in learning more about, and connecting to, the Moon.

More About International Observe the Moon Night

International Observe the Moon Night is sponsored by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission and the Solar System Exploration Division at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, with many contributors.

Plan Ahead

Upcoming dates for International Observe the Moon Night

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International Observe the Moon Night is a time to come together with fellow Moon enthusiasts and curious people worldwide. Everyone on Earth is invited to learn about lunar science and exploration, take part in celestial observations, and honor cultural and personal connections to the Moon. We encourage everyone to interpret "observe" broadly!

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International Observe the Moon Night 2020

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moon phases image courtesy of vectorolie at freedigitalphotos.net
It's safe to say we had a blast studying the moon as part of My Father's World Kindergarten. We got caught up in the sensory aspect and came up with several recipes for play with a moon theme. We also learned about the phases of the moon, how we get light from the moon, and the surface of the moon with these hands on activities. In addition to the moon activities we did, here are several creative moon activities for kids.

18 Activities to Learn about the Moon

Do I even need to tell you how much fun these erupting moon rocks were? Click through to see how simple they were to make.

We made the phases of the moon with oreos like 123 Homeschool 4 Me when JZ went through My Father's World Kindergarten.
Fantastic Fun and Learning put together an adorable Moon Craft.
We played a gross motor game to learn the phases of the moon.

We love puffy paint, and I'm sure this puffy paint moon craft from No Time for Flashcards was fun to make.
How cool is this DIY moon phase viewer from What Do We Do All Day?
I set up a simple demonstration to learn how the moon gives us light using a flashlight, a mirror, and a dark room.

I Can Teach My Child shared a fun way to demonstrate why there are craters on the moon.
This night and day sorting activity from Twodaloo would be perfect for younger siblings to do while participating in the moon study.
For some prewriting skills I put together an erupting moon dust sensory tray. Yep, you read that right. It erupts. School work that erupts? I wish I had this when I was in school!

I love this model of the moon phases from Eberopolis.
Nurturestore shared a simple paper plate moon craft.
You know we love to create new paint recipes, and what would a moon study be without some moon dust paint?

Here is a free printable phases of the moon connect the dots from Kids Activities Blog.
We made an erupting moon cake to learn about the surface of the moon, the phases of the moon, and as a bonus it's made from wholesome ingredients!

This galaxy slime from Twodaloo is seriously the most gorgeous slime ever.
There are several great ideas for a moon study in this Montessori inspired moon unit from Living Montessori Now.
Another favorite sensory play recipe from our moon unit was this moon dough recipe for play.

The best part of our moon study was learning about how God created the moon to reflect light from the sun to give us a light source at night. In the same way we reflect the light of Jesus when have Him in our hearts.
For more ways to learn about the moon follow me on Pinterest.

moon phases image courtesy of vectorolie at freedigitalphotos.net

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Moon Activities for Kindergarten (Learn Play Imagine)

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moon phases image courtesy of vectorolie at freedigitalphotos.net It's safe to say we had a blast studying the moon as part of My Father's World Kindergarten. We got caught up in the sensory aspect and came up with several recipes for play with a moon theme.

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This is a great sensory experience and a fun art project. Take a walk and gather fall leaves that have started turning colors. Have your child crush the leaves into a container and use the sprinkles to glue to paper. You can cut the paper into leaf shapes if you want, or just let them glue it to regular paper or cardboard.

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Use plain coffee filters, or cut large coffee filters into leaf shapes. Use pipettes or eyedroppers to drop liquid watercolor or food coloring onto the filters. Watch the colors blend!

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Use pine cones instead of a paint brush to create art!

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Use materials found in nature to create a collage. Ideas: fall leaves, green leaves, twigs, small pine cones, grass, etc.

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Meatball has a certain fascination with pine cones...I have piles of them all over my house. This pine cone science experiment came to be when the question of why do pine cones open and close came up during a painting activity. While painting with pine cones Livia discovered that some of the pine cones that were shut up tight began to open, and so we had to explore.

I was surprised at just how quickly this science experiment developed and what it turned into!

Items Used

Because the paint was wet Livia decided that the pine cones opened and closed due to moisture. We decided to use water because it would be easier to observe changes in than other liquids such as paint.

Exploring How Pine Cones Open and Close

The first thing my kids noticed when the pine cones hit the water was that they float! Since we had some pine cones that were open and some that were closed we had to take a moment to see if whether that affected if the pine cone floated or not. This quickly turned into a sensory soup as Meatball tried to fit all the pine cones into the water container. They also noticed that the round part of the glass acted like a magnifying glass giving us a really neat up close view of our submerged pine cones.

Once wet our pine cones almost immediately closed up. The ones in the cold water closed quicker than the ones in the hot water. As soon as they were closed Meatball would transfer them over to the dry container. It was fascinating to watch them slowly reopen as they dried.

This led to some fun conversations while playing!

The Science Behind Opening and Closing Pine Cones

The scales of seed-bearing pine cones move in response to changes in humidity. When warm and dry the pine cone opens up to release the cone's seeds. When it is damp or cold, the scales close up.

There was a lot of questions about the mechanics behind the opening and closing of pine cones. When wet the pine cones cells expand, when dried they shrink. We did pull out some sponges to provide a more visual representation of this concept (which at that time I was elbows deep in a water mess and the camera was far far away).

We had an absolute blast with this hands on exploration of pine cones and the following sensory soup. With next to nothing for set up, no large time commitment, and this much fun, we will definitely be exploring this one again. Maybe next time with different liquids 😉

Turn this science observation into a fun at home or in the classroom learning experience with our printable pinecone observation and recording worksheets. This printable packet includes instructions on how to do the experiment, observation recording for before and after the experiment, and a handy dandy K-W-L (know, wonder, learned) chart. We hope y'all have a blast with this!

If your family does this science experiment we would love to see the fun!

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Your shares are how this site grows and I am sincerely grateful. Know a friend who'd like this? Please share it on Facebook or save it to your favorite kids board on Pinterest.

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Meatball has a certain fascination with pine cones...I have piles of them all over my house. This pine cone science experiment came to be when the question of why do pine cones open and close came up during a painting activity.

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Autumn Leaves Book Read Aloud | Autumn Books for Kids | Children's Books about Fall

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Why Do Leaves Change Colors in the Fall? | Biology for Kids | SciShow Kids

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Goodbye Summer Hello Autumn Book Read Aloud | Fall Books for Kids | Children's Books Read Aloud

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How Do You Know It's Fall Book Read Aloud | Fall Books for Kids | Children's Books Read Aloud

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Rake up leaves and let children jump in! Even better: let them help you rake up the leaves!

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Go for a walk in your neighborhood or a local park. Use all your senses to observe the world around you (well, maybe not taste...)! What do you see? What do you smell? What do you hear? What fall changes are you noticing?

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I love it when authors read their own books to us! :D

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Read Aloud with Carin Berger: THE LITTLE YELLOW LEAF

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Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf -Read Aloud- Twinkle Teaches

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Mix up a batch or two of playdough! Brown is fun for adding natural items like twigs, pebbles, and dried leaves to. Or, try a small batch of red and a small batch of yellow and encourage your child to mix the two together (the will discover orange!).

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Sensory bins can be fun for exploring at home. Use any container you like: plastic shoe box or larger tupperware or storage containers work great! Ideas for fall sensory play include: unpopped popcorn kernels or feed corn, dried leaves, hay, soil or sand. To this base you can add: small pumpkins or gourds, acorns, fall leaves and/or twigs. Don't forget to add some measuring cups and containers!

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A local farm not too far from us hosts a Harvest Festival each fall. One of the activities at the festival involves having the kids wander into the corn field to pick their own Indian corn right off the stalk.

My kids harvested several ears of Indian corn at last fall's festival, and after waiting a month or two for the corn to dry, we got to make our very own Indian corn popcorn right in our microwave. The result was so cool!

Plus, it was tasty and healthy (unlike most microwave popcorn sold in grocery stores).
Note: For more corn activities, see my Corn Unit Study page.
To make Indian corn popcorn, we started with an ear of corn that was very dry after sitting in our dark pantry for several weeks. The ear had no husk.

We placed the ear into a brown paper bag.

Then we taped the ends shut to contain the popped kernels in the bag.

We placed the bag into the microwave and microwaved on high for several minutes. Basically, I just listened to the kernels popping, and once the popping slowed down I stopped the microwave and removed the bag.
NOTE: Do NOT microwave for too long or you may create a fire hazard! Once the kernels are no longer popping in quick succession, it is time to remove the ear of corn from the microwave.
We opened the bag very carefully, because the contents inside were hot.

Here is what our ear of Indian corn popcorn looked like. Many of the kernels had popped, but still remained attached to the cob.

Other kernels were loose in the bag, so we tossed them into a bowl to enjoy.

The kids also took turns eating the popped kernels right off the cob.

Yum!

More corn resources

More corn posts from Gift of Curiosity:

For more corn activities, see my Corn Unit Study page or my Corn Unit Study board on Pinterest!

Follow Katie @ Gift of Curiosity's board Corn Unit Study on Pinterest.

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A local farm not too far from us hosts a Harvest Festival each fall. One of the activities at the festival involves having the kids wander into the corn field to pick their own Indian corn right off the stalk.

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When you put Indian corn in a pan of water, what happens? Will it grow? I had no idea! This "will it grow" science experiment is perfect for the months of October and November. You simply observe it each day and see what happens. Find Indian corn during the fall season in grocery stores, orchards or farm markets. It's dried and usually, several cobs are tied together at the top to hang for decoration.

I like simple science activities that we can keep around and observe for a while. It's exciting to see changes, wonder what's next or talk about what's happening. Such simple activities can be so memorable for children to learn about the world around them. One family had to get some Indian corn and try this at home too!

Remove the husks and place the cob of corn in a small pan of water. Wait and see what happens. For more information, see this follow-up post: Will it Grow? Update
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When you put Indian corn in a pan of water, what happens? Will it grow? I had no idea! This "will it grow" science experiment is perfect for the months of October and November. You simply observe it each day and see what happens.

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Scented, fall-themed playdough is so simple to make! Once you have your basic playdough recipe, it's … | Fall preschool activities, Playdough recipe, Fall preschool

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Oct 2, 2016 - An educational blog hosted by a collaborative group of teacher-authors hoping to share creative and colorful ideas and activities from our classrooms!