Preserved Fall Leaves

Materials Needed:
Wax paper
Dish towel
Warm iron
Fall leaves


Give your kid a paper bag and head outside to collect fall leaves. Look for leaves of all shapes, colors and types.

Once you have 5-10 leaves, head inside and plug in the iron (put it on the medium-warm setting).

Have your kid carefully lay the leaves out on a sheet of wax paper, making sure that there is at least an inch of space between each leaf.

Place another sheet of wax paper over the leaves.

Cover wax paper with a dish towel.

Use the iron to melt the wax paper around the leaves. You should apply firm pressure for 1-2 minutes over each leaf.

Help your kid to trim the leaves (leaving about 1/4 inch of wax paper on the outside of each leaf)

If the wax paper starts to lift off of one of the leaves, just reheat the iron and press firmly for 30 seconds.

This idea was adapted from Parents Connect

Paper Autumn Leaf Magnet

Materials Needed:
Cardstock or heavyweight paper: The back of a cereal box will do.
Fall leaves: The more variety the better.
Tissue paper: Yellow, green, brown, orange and red.
White glue
Paper plate
Marker
Scissors
Magnetic tape

Get outside and into the fresh air with your kids and hunt down some autumn leaves in different shapes and colors.

Head back inside and have your kid place one of the leaves on a piece of cardstock.

Help him trace around the leaf with a marker.



Then, have your kid carefully cut out the leaf form with scissors.

Repeat the process with several different shapes of leaves for variety.

Next, have your kid pour a big glob of glue onto the paper plate.

Have our kid cut or tear the tissue paper into a bunch of approximately two-inch squares.

When he's finished, it's time to cover the leaves in tissue paper.

You can have your kid crumple each square into a tiny ball, spitball-style (yuck!). Then, when he's got a bunch of tissue-paper balls, he can dip them, one at a time, into the glue and attach them to his leaf cut-out.


Alternately, he can wrap the squares, one at a time, around the end of a pencil and dip that into the glue and then stick it onto the cardstock.

He should continue gluing until the entire leaf cutout is covered. He can use one color per leaf or two or three different colors of tissue paper to make the leaf look more authentic.

When all the leaves are covered, set them aside to dry.

When the glue is dry, attach a small piece of magnetic tape to the back of the fall leaf and hang it on the fridge for a festive Thanksgiving.


This idea was adapted from Parents Connect

Corncob Painting

Materials Needed:
Corncobs: Cooked or uncooked, but not already eaten!
Tempera paint: In all colors.
Paper plates: Otherwise known as "the artist's palette."
Artist: Your kid.
Newspaper or a plastic tablecloth: Unless you want a multi-colored dining room table.
Paper: Big sheets of butcher paper are great, and so are cut-up paper bags!

Get a bunch of corn and have your kid help you shuck it. If you're having some for dinner, feel free to cook it up, otherwise, uncooked corn works just fine.

Prepare the work space by laying out newspaper or a plastic table cloth. (Be prepared, this project is very messy, so hide your upholstered dining room chairs!)

Pour the paint onto paper plates. One color per plate.

Lay out the paper.

Have your kid roll the cobs into the paint and then get him to rub the paint into the kernels with his fingers.

Next have him roll, press and smear the paint onto the paper with the cobs to create a cool abstract mural.

Let the painting dry and then hang it up in your kid's room. Next time he wakes up at 5 AM, he can admire his art instead of waking you!

This idea was adapted from Parents Connect