Recommended Age: 3y+
Level of Parent Involvement: Low, mostly preparation and supervision
Materials
- Autumn leaves
- A basket to put the leaves in
- A roll of Clear Contact/Self-adhesive Protective Book Covering
- Masking tape
- A full-length window (or window at the child’s height)
Preparation
- Invite your child to go on a nature walk around your garden or suburb to collect autumn leaves of different colours and shapes.
- Stick a large piece of Contact onto the full-length window with a piece of masking tape at each corner, so that the smooth side is against the glass and the backing paper/sticky side is closest to you.
Steps
- Remove the backing paper from the contact.
- Explain to your child that the Contact is sticky – touch it with your finger and let your child feel it as well.
- Show your child how to take an autumn leaf from the basket and stick it onto the Contact by gently pressing it into place with your fingers. Repeat with another leaf.
- Invite your child to stick some more autumn leaves onto the Contact.
Variations
- Draw the outline of a tree onto the smooth side of the Contact with a permanent marker, before sticking the Contact to the window with the masking tape. Then your child can create a picture of a tree with the autumn leaves.
- Cut the Contact into large shapes – such as a circle, a square and a rectangle. Using strips of coloured paper or coloured masking tape, frame these shapes and stick them onto the window. Pre-cut a variety of paper circles, squares and rectangles in different colours and sizes – mix them all together. Your child can create shape pictures by sticking the paper circles onto the Contact circle, the squares on the square, etc.