I grew up in Southern California where there really isn't seasons. Okay, there are some changes, in about late December, some of the deciduous (SAT word, oh ya!) trees do change colors, but nothing like Colorado or really any other cooler climate place. My first REAL season change in Colorado was fall. I had never experienced a real fall, where leaves actually change in October and the weather cools down instead of warming up which is the usual trend in the Orange County area (granted in Colorado that can be the trend, too). Who would have thought? Cool weather and beautiful orange, yellow and red leaves were not just in books. :) I love fall!
Walking in this new wonderland is one of my favorite things to do with my kids. We take along a bucket and collect all of these wonderful leaves until our bucket is full.
Then we go home and make some fun leaf crafts with our bounty of colorful leaves. My personal favorite is a handprint tree.
First gather a 12x18 piece of white or light blue construction paper, some brown paint, regular white glue, a paint brush and your leaves.
Paint your child's hand and about half of his or her forearm with the brown paint. This is a great sensory activity and is fun interesting to see if he or she is ticklish or if it has a calming affect.
Press your child's hand and forearm gently down on the construction paper, making sure his or her finger's are spread apart.
Now you have a tree trunk. Take the white glue and the leaves you collected and let your child glue on the leaves to the paper.
This is a great activity for 2+, but you can still go on a leaf hunt with children younger than that. After collecting the leaves, dump them into a tub (even a small plastic shoebox will work) and let them crinkle and crunch! Oh what fun!
Enjoy!
-Allie
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