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Nature Note
Autumn is a glorious time of year to view the fall foliage. In Maine we watch the colors change from roughly September 15 through October. When the leaves fall there is still fun to be had! Take a break from raking to make an artistic leaf animal or a leaf rubbing.
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Autumn leaf animals – an owl, a turtle, and a mouse.
Leaf Animals—in the photo above are an owl, a turtle, and a mouse. Use your imagination to create as many animals of Maine as you can. Supplies : Assortment of leaves, scissors, paper or cardboard to lay out the leaves, and a glue stick. Procedure : If you prefer to make temporary designs, make your leaf animal without glue, photograph it, then let the leaf animal scatter in the wind. If you want to keep it, glue it to itself or a sheet of paper, or use self-sticking laminate or clear contact paper to hold and seal your design.
Leaf Rubbings – Supplies : white paper,
crayons – a variety of colors, paper peeled from crayons, and an assortment of freshly fallen leaves. Procedure : Place a leaf, under‐side up, (the bottom of the leaf has more pronounced veins) under a sheet of paper, pressed flat. Use the side of the crayon, not the point, to rub color over top of the paper above the leaf. As you rub you will see the leaf shape and veins appear on the paper. Extension : Use the Forest Trees of Maine to identify the tree leaves in your rubbings.
Leaf Color Change Explained Daylight length (the photo‐period) is the trigger for fall color change. Since sunlight is diminished in autumn, chlorophyll* is no longer needed to capture it and so is no longer produced by the trees. The leaves that were once green due to chlorophyll now reveal the color (pigments) that were always there beneath the green – carotenoids produce yellows, oranges, and browns; anthocyanin produces reds. Day length, rainfall, and the amount of sugar left in the leaves all influence the quality of fall colors. Bright days and cool, crisp nights, but not a killing frost, promote the most brilliant autumn foliage.
*Chlorophyll is the substance in leaves that give them their green color. Chlorophyll is responsible for taking in or capturing, sunlight for the plant. Green plants use sunlight plus water and CO2 to make their food (simple carbohydrates – also called sugar). This process is photosynthesis; literally “putting together with light.” Photo = light. Synthesis = to make OR to put together.
The Autumn Equinox takes place tomorrow night, Thursday, September 22, at 9:04 p.m. ET. It marks the beginning of Autumn and the shortening of daylight hours until the Winter Solstice – the “shortest day” of the year (the day with the least amount of daylight). View images and learn why the autumn equinox takes place at the NASA Watch the Skies blog.
Plan a Fall Foliage Adventure – View the foliage map and get updates on the advancing of the fall color throughout Maine, read suggestions for fall foliage road trips and destinations, and find resources for learning about trees at MaineFoliage.com
Share Nature Note with your friends, family, teachers, scouts, and anyone you think might be interested. Here is how they can sign up for a free subscription:
- Text NATURE to (888) 514-7527 OR Subscribe online
Suggest a topic by email; put Nature Note in the Subject line and email Jocelyn Hubbell.
More Fall Themed Arts and Crafts for Kids
If you’re looking for Fall themed kids craft ideas, check these out. Here are some of my most popular ideas to try with toddlers and preschoolers this Autumn.
- Fingerprint Apple Tree Craft
- Fall Leaves Stamp Art
- Apple Stamping
- Snowy Owl Pine Cone Craft
- How to make Polymer Clay Fall Leaves
For more ideas, take a look at these 30 Amazing Fall Arts and Crafts for Kids.
Materials Needed
- The free fall leaf templates
- Cookie Sheet
- Printer and paper
- Red, orange yellow and gold paint
- Cardboard
- Scissors
1. Download and print the free fall leaf templates.
There are four different leaf templates for you to use. Simply head to the bottom of the post and click the blue button to get your copy of this free printable for kids.
2. Place your template on a cookie sheet.
This step isn’t essential. It just makes cleaning up when your children have finished painting a lot easier.
3. Dot paint all over the template.
I used red, orange, yellow and gold paint for this art project. While you’ll need to place dots of the different colors all over the template, remember to focus on the side of the paper, opposite your dominant hand.
For example, if you’re right handed, place more paint on the left hand side of the picture. This is because it’s easier for you to scrape from left to right, and the dots of paint will come with you as you scrape.
If you want your children to do this step themselves, but don’t trust them with a whole bottle of paint, use q-tips instead. Your children can use the cotton buds to scoop up and place the dots of paint where they want them to be. Without the risk of spilling the entire bottle of paint all over the place.
4. Scrape the cardboard across the picture.
I used a small piece of cardboard from an old cereal box that I had cut into 2 inch lengths.
Simply hold an edge of the cardboard to the paper, and drag it across. This is the same motion as when you are using a squeegee for washing windows.
You can repeat this step to cover areas of the leaf where the paint hasn’t covered. Just remember that the more times you scrape the paint, the more blended your colors will be. Resulting in a leaf that looks mostly one color instead of a combination streaks of the different colors.
6. Cut out your leaf.
Once your leaf has dried, you can cut it out.
This step may be tricky for toddlers who are new to scissor skills. If you are doing this activity with very young children, then you can either cut out the leaf for them. Or choose the basic leaf without all of the curved lines, as this template will be the easiest for them to cut by themselves.
What You’re Learning
Creativity
Arts and crafts are a great way to use your imagination and then create something that represents that idea in the real world. This is important not only for artistic pursuits, like painting or music, but also for problem solving. Which is an essential life skill that everyone needs to develop.
Your children may want to express their creativity in different ways. For example they could:
- Choose different colors (e.g. make a rainbow leaf)
- Scrape in a squiggly pattern instead of a straight line
- Use painter’s tape to make a pattern on the leaf before you paint over it. Once the scraping has finished you can remove the tape to display the pattern underneath.
Fine Motor Skills
Fine motor skills refer to the small muscles in the hand and fingers. Developing these skills are important in being able to write when the kids go to school, as well as being able to complete tasks independently. (For example, dressing and feeding themselves).
Squeezing the paint (or using q-tips for application) as well as holding the cardboard scrapers are all going to help young kids develop:
- Pincer grip and/or palmar grasp
- Hand-eye coordination
- Dexterity
- Hand strength
Science
This is a wonderful opportunity to talk to your kids about:
- The seasons and how the environment changes in each one.
- You can also discuss why leaves change color in the Fall and how this impacts the tree they originally came from.
- Talk about why some trees lose their leaves and some don’t.
Planning and Organization
These Scrape Painted fall Leaves have several steps that need to be done in a specific order for this picture to work.
For example, you need to wait for the paint to dry before cutting out your templates. If you don’t, you’ll get paint all over your scissors and possibly ruin them.
Organizing the required materials beforehand, as well as planning out each step before you do it, is a great way for kids to strengthen their executive functioning skills.
Are you going to try these Scrape Painted Fall Leaves?
Don’t forget to pin the idea for later.
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