Childrens' leaf project

[gina2000]

My third grader has a pretty neat leaf project I wanted to share with you. A few of you may like it enough to try it!

Matt has to collect leaves...all shapes and sizes, from trees, bushes and flowers. They can be green, yellow, red or a myriad of colors. Soak them in warm water for a few minutes to remove the dirt and blot them dry on paper towels.

Now place them between newspapers and weight them. Leave them til they are crisp and dry (about a week).

Now the fun begins!

Matt's assignment is to make leaf animals with the leaves. Think of the fun! Lions with spikey manes. Leopards with different colored spots. Leafy cats!

He has to use rubber cement to paste the leaves onto poster paper and then cover with plastic or clear contact paper.

I thought this was a neat way to preserve leaves and be a bit creative!

 

[Snowwark]

Sounds like a very cool project Gina, very different! Not being limited to just tree leaves opens up all kinds of options.

Snarly snapdragon serpents, impatien impalas, rhodo rhinos........

 

[cgcw]

I will pass this idea onto my 2nd grader. He has a nature project which is due in a couple of weeks and we've been struggling with what to do. Hopefully he will like this idea. Thanks for sharing!

 

[DebºoºS]

What a neat idea and project. I'll try it. We do a leaf project that's fun.

Collect some large leaves before they turn completely brown.
Arrange them on a sheet of wax paper
Sprinkle them with assorted colors of crayon shavings
Place a second wax paper sheet over them
then a towel
Iron the towel until the crayon wax melts
Trim the wax paper
Put a string on it
Hang it in the window
Wait for the sun to shine through it

 

[Snowwark]

I liked like to try that out with my niece next week Deb, as long as I don't have to dig through snow to find some leaves!

Great idea, thank you!

 

[DebºoºS]

Oh dear, it may be a little late in the season to find leaves that aren't crisp. We still have a few green ones here. If you'd like I'll mail you some