Leaf Garlands
Change is in the air and new vibrant autumn colors are popping up every day in Boulder County! Celebrate the fall season with this easy and beautiful nature craft.
Materials Needed: colorful leaves, hole punch, and something to string your garland on- dried grass, a natural fiber twine, or cotton string. Optional items: newspaper or wax paper and heavy books for pressing leaves, beeswax for coating leaves
Steps:
Gather a bundle of colorful leaves in a variety of shapes. Remember to give thanks to the trees for their beautiful gift and give back by offering them some water or picking up trash in the area.
Optional Steps: Press the leaves for several days or longer before creating your garland. If you’d like your leaves to last even longer, you can dip them in melted beeswax. Gear we love- check out this pocket plant press from Acorn Naturalists. This tool can be a good motivator for kids and is small enough to throw in your pack.
Use a hole punch to make holes in the leaves. You can save the holes for leaf confetti!
String leaves on dried grass, twine, or string, tying knots between the leaves to keep them spaced apart from one another.
Hang inside or outside your home and enjoy!
How this activity supports your child’s learning: This craft builds your child’s fine motor skills and you can also work with children on color recognition. At Thorne, we often find that projects that involve gathering natural items can lead to many unexpected natural discoveries and further scientific inquiry related to the discoveries. One example of why play-based learning outdoors is so fantastic!
Thorne Nature Preschool is for children ages 3-6 in Boulder and Lafayette. Thorne is a Colorado Universal Preschool provider. We accept enrollment applications year-round.