Colorful Leaf Printing

The leaves are finally changing here in Virginia, and the trees are all golden and russet in the afternoon sunlight. On our walk today we came across a tree with huge yellow leaves and immediately plucked the largest for this craft. I've been just dying to try out leaf printing since I ran across the idea on Pinterest.

 We started by squirting different colored acrylic paints onto a baking a sheet. I then smudged them with paper towel into the general shape of the leaf.

 E pressed the leaf into the paint and then carefully placed the leaf onto the paper, pressing it some more. We made sure we placed the leaf vein-side down.

 She peeled back the leaf to reveal a gorgeous fall print. We made two prints, but there was still plenty of paint left on the pan. Kleas used one pan for an entire class of preschoolers, but since I didn't have other (awake) children in the house, I printed off this tree template for E to paint.

 Although its meant as a wedding keepsake (get your guests to ink their fingerprints onto either side of the tree), I added the word "thankful" and let E fill it in with her own sweet prints.

I truly am thankful for smudgy prints and the dear little fingers they belong to!

Autumn Walk by Kelly Asbury

I mention this book every year, but that's because I love it. Ignore the average illustrations and instead listen to the rhythmical, stimulating language throughout the book. After reading this to your kids, you're both going to want to romp through fallen leaves, sip hot apple cider, and glory in all that autumn offers.




Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert

A classic Ehlert, this book follows the life of a sugar maple from the viewpoint of a young child. Gorgeous watercolor collages fill the pages while the narration provides interesting information about the beginnings of the maple tree.