Can you come out to Play?

Autumn brings nature’s year to a close with a rousing crescendo of color. The bluest of skies highlights the rainbow of green, red, yellow and orange leaves. Days are growing shorter and the crisp nights beg for bonfires. Fall is nature’s last hurrah before the rest of winter, and Wisconsinites young and old know they must make the most of this brief season. Here are some ideas for creating natural fall fun with your children.
Celebrate Leaves- Leaves are the stars of autumn’s show. They also make awesome play things! Young children enjoy making a “bouquet” of fallen leaves. Once they have a handful, ask them to sit down and sort them by color, shape, size, favorite, not favorite- anything, really! The fun is examining each leaf. When you are done, gather your bouquet back up, make a wish, and throw them in the air! Some leaves are so special children will want to keep them. Remind them that dead leaves decay and make the soil rich for plants to grow, so it is important to let most of them stay outside. That said, it is ok to borrow a few from nature to create leaf masterpieces. Use paper lunch bags to collect soft, pliable leaves off the ground. When you get them home, place them within the pages of an old phone book and stack something heavy on top. After a week of pressing, the leaves will be ready to use for all sorts of art projects. Children can paint them and press them on paper or fabric to make designs. Lay a piece of paper on top of the leaves and use the side of a crayon to rub over them. Presto! A magic leaf appears. Remember that the bumpy undersides of leaves make the most interesting patterns. Read Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert and be inspired to create your own leafy person. Older children should read Look What I Did With a Leaf by Morteza E. Sohi for more elaborate ideas for leaf art. Of course, don’t forget the best leaf activity of them all - rake the biggest pile possible and JUMP IN!

Staff Naturalist, Bev