I collect and do gazillions of ideas from pinterest and other blogs that I read and yet I often find that I haven't done the simplest timeless activities with my own kids.
Earlier this week we were all a bit grumpy after school and I caught a glimpse of the fall leaves on our front lawn. They were gorgeous! Reds, yellows, purples... (nothing like the leaves I grew up seeing in New Jersey, but still beautiful for a California autumn).
Instead of having our usual quiet time we got shoes on and went off on a fall leaf color hunt! I couldn't let this season pass without making sure we fit in this classic fall activity!
Each child was given a large ziploc bag and we roamed the neighborhood admiring leaves and collecting them.
My favorite part of this activity was just watching what the kids noticed and collected. It made me very aware of how my opinions about what is beautiful and isn't beautiful could really influence them. I loved seeing nature through their eyes and discovering what was beautiful to them.
On our way home my 2 year old dumped out all of her leaves. At first I was annoyed since there were some really pretty ones in there... but then I just smiled and gave her a hug and we had fun collecting more! She was seriously only interested in the collecting part... not the keeping part.
While we collected and sorted our leaves we talked about colors and shapes and sizes!!
Some of my favorite move & learn activities are ones that just happen naturally... without me having to structure them too much. This activity was one of those. We moved a lot while we collect leaves and walked/ran all over the neighborhood... and we talked, made observations, and learned new things along the way.
Once we got home from our hunt, we grated some broken crayons, grabbed some wax paper, and then ironed our crayon shavings and leaves in between wax paper. Next time I will be much smarter and use a crayon sharpener instead!
The results were magical! The kids loved sprinkling crayon droppings on their leaves, putting wax paper on top, and then helping me hold the iron while I ironed the wax pieces of paper to seal the leaves/crayons together. The colors we created were so cool!
Did you go on a Fall leaf color hunt with your kids this year?
Have you ever made wax paper crayon leaf crafts like this? (if not, run and do it before all of the fall leaves are gone)
This fall leaf color hunt is part of the Move and Learn Series that I am participating in along with Hands On: As We Grow, The Pleasantest Thing, and Coffee Cups and Crayons.
Make sure to check out this week’s other Move and Learn activities below and then join the four of us next week for even more move and learn ideas!
Kindergarten Addition Activity via Hands On: As We Grow
Life Sized Math Board Game via Coffee Cups & Crayons
Mixed Up Word Game via The Pleasantest Thing
You can also check out our Move and Learn Pinterest Board for more inspiration! Or see the other posts we've shared in this series...
Turkey Alphabet Race Game with Alpha-Bits
Alphabet Laundry Toss Game
Flying Ghost Name Game
Addition Crawling Game for Kids
Alphabet Jogging Game for Kids
Name Broom Hockey
Sight Word Target Practice (guest post at I Can Teach My Child)
Fall Leaf Number Movement Game
Sight Word Basketball
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