East Kids Nature Project: Leaf Rubbing

Incorporating nature into our lives and our art is a regular activity. And so easy. Just walk outside your door for that "in-season" inspiration you may need. And some much needed exercise / energy release and running around for the kids.

On a recent walk around the block. we collected leaves of various shapes and colors. Then we proceeded to lay them out in my Older Sons particular order....we secured paper by taping it down on all sides of our cardboard, and rub impression onto paper with color crayons and viola!

This was a fairly easy project to put together. It hung in our front window after we admired it an talked about the interesting "veins" and patterns the leaves made.

Here he is just starting out the rubbing. It was a quick project to get thru, once he picked his colors he was done in 15 minutes or so.

Areyousureaboutthatblog Older Son Picking his Color Scheme

Areyousureaboutthatblog Color Scheme and Variations on the Leaf Details

Areyousureaboutthatblog Close Up of the Leaf Veins and Detail

Nature Project: Leaf Rubbing

Level of Difficulty: EASY

Time: Collecting leaves, may vary. Not including getting coats and shoes on a few minutes. More selective kids may explore the leaves longer, being VERY specific about shapes and colors. That's part of the fun, so don't rush the to pick out there leaves and quickly get to coloring. The outdoor exploring is just as vital!


What You Need:

• Bring Enthusiasm!!
• Leaves, easily collected on a walk through your neighborhood, or around the block.
• Paper, white works well
• Hard surface. Place leaves on the floor and then tape paper over it - watch out for coloring over the edges. If the floor is hard wood, or tiled, the "edges" or flooring detail may poke thru the rubbing effect / might be pretty cool!!
• Crayons, preferably with paper removed slightly or completely. When rubbing or "coloring" just using the crayon tips, less of the leaf detail comes through.

Questions to ask during the project:

When Outside Collecting Leaves - explain the project "We are going to collect some leaves. We want big ones, and little ones, and as many colors as we can find. Then we are going to do a neat magic trick and copy the leaves onto paper using our crayons. It will be amazing!"

Just conversation starters.... don't grill you child with these questions, engage them in conversation!

What color leaves did you find?
Is this a red leaf?
I wonder why the leaves are changing their colors from green to...yellow, red, etc.?
Is that leaf bigger then your foot?
Gee, good thing the leaves are on the ground, so we don't have to climb a tree to get them...why ARE Those leaves on the ground?

At Home:

Layout the project, encourage your child to pick which leaves and allow them to layout out as many or as few as they'd like to prepare for the rubbing. Their is no "right way."

Then tell them it's the "adults part of the job to do" - taping the paper down.

What colors will you pick to rub over your leaves?
What do you think will see when you start to color?
What are those lines on the paper from?
Looks like magic, the leaves are coming thru the paper...
Which one is your favorite leaf rub?
Why do you like it?....(again there are no "right" answers)


Enjoy your quality time together. This quick project will leaf memories for months to come.

The Days are Long, the Years are Short.

Make Mistakes, Breath, Reflect and Laugh.Out.Loud.

More sensory bags... Some Details on What to Use

Here's some things I've discovered while making our Sensory bags and Learning Trays.

-- Baby oil adds a richer color to the paint or food coloring.

-- Dollar store hair gel dissolves. But it's a nice science lesson on liquids and their forms. 

--Baby Oil will stay intact and floats on top of the water. Olive oil sinks and stays on the bottom because it heavier then water. And gel melts away, leaving only bubbles. All are a nice science lesson on liquids and their forms. 

As we filled our jars we used terms like:

Half

Full

h2o 

--Kids fill their own sensory bags or bottles with their pre selected items.

-- Kids first add "items to their jar, on their own they pour glitter and leftover beads and sequence. Maybe add a funnel for easier clean up. Parents usually have to hold the funnel. 

-- then Fill w 2 squirts of paint (infer paints are nice).

-- Don't add water to bags for walls or widows, it's too heavy and doesn't allow for finger play. Gel works better, alone, as does paint only in the bag. If you will tape a sensory bag to the table, Table bags are okay to add water too. 

-- Baby oil floats on top of water I bags and bottles. Adding a Cool effect and beautiful colors.

--Make a rice "I-spy" bottle without water. All oil. The "flow" of objects is smoother and again teaches about textures in liquids.

Have fun!! There are no mistakes here.

Make mistakes. Breath, reflect. And Laugh.Out.Loud