What you need:
Collection of leaves with heavy veins such as oak or sycamore.
Salt dough clay. To make this, you mix 1 cup salt, 2 cups flour, 2 tbsp oil, 1 cup water in a bowl and mix until you see dough.
Rolling pin
Paints
Paintbrushes
What to do:
- Flour a baking tray.
- Roll the dough flat. It should be about a centimetre thick.
- Press the leaves into the dough and remove them. You will see an imprint of the leaf on the dough.
- After baking the dough in a low oven until it is hard, talk about the patterns made by the veins.
- Use the paints to mix 'The Colours of Autumn,' and paint the leaves. You could also add glitter or tissue paper to make the leaves pretty.
Info Box 1
More leafy activities:
Use the leaves to make rubbings with wax crayons, too.
Make your own beautiful stained glass windows! Press the brightly coloured leaves, then tape them to a window to let the sun stream through.
Make a spiky hedgehog from seeds such as ash or sycamore seeds. Roll play clay or saltdough into a ball and stick the seeds in to makes spines.
Info Box 2
Did you know?
When your child asks you why leaves change colour and drop off in the Autumn, tell her it is like a person getting ready for bed. The tree sucks all of the goodness out of the leaves before they drop, and then the tree settles down for the long, quiet winter.
Book to Read:
Plants and Flowers - ISBN 0749648627
