My preschooler and toddler worked on their fall leaf paintings for a reasonable amount of time. As they worked, they talked about the colors they were making and the differences in each leaf. A perfect fall afternoon to pass the time, get creative, and improve fine motor strength!
Fall Leaf Paintings for Preschoolers
I love fall—the crisp mornings, collecting mini pumpkins, and bringing fall leaf paintings to life. Few things are more beautiful to me than a falling leaf in a whirlwind of color. So, what better idea than to create a fall leaf drawing? Whether your kid wants a fall maple leaf, a red oak, or a birch, these fall leaf pictures are ideal.
I’ll tell you the benefits of a fall painting activity and how to set it up. I’ll even drop in some info on why leaves change color to share with curious children (you’re welcome)!
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Why this Activity is Great for Preschoolers!
- Color exploration – A fall leaf drawing or painting allows children to explore colors.
- Connects kids to nature – Equally important, including a fall leaf in play connects children with nature. They will inevitably ask, ‘Why does a leaf change color?’
- Facilitates curiosity – It initiates questions, and curiosity leaves to learning (see what I did there?) Curiosity is a virtuous cycle. The more curiosity is fed, the more curious kids get – expanding their knowledge of the world.
- Grip and motor skills – Gripping the brush and using strokes to paint help them practice and strengthen their motor skills. These skills are essential later in life for holding cups, tying shoelaces, and becoming independent.
I love using the book, Why Do Leaves Change Color? to introduce why a fall leaf goes from green to red, to yellow, to brown. I’ve given you a book summary so you have a head start (you can thank me later).
The cliff notes on why leaves change colors.
Leaves work all summer to help the tree grow. The leaves contain chlorophyll (a pigment), giving leaves their green color.
In the fall, the cool weather tells the leaves they have done their job, and the green fades. Then the other colors appear before you see a falling leaf from the tree.
Children ask questions (and that’s a good thing). So, it’s essential when teaching your kids that you understand the subject yourself. Remember, you don’t have to know everything about a fall leaf! You can learn along with them.
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How to Draw a Fall Leaf
Before you start, you must know how to create a fall leaf drawing so your kids can begin painting. It can be as creative or simple as you want.
Outlining a falling leaf coming off a tree can be fun! However, if you’re not the artistic type, then a basic outline is more than enough.
- Find Inspiration – You can use fall leaf pictures from a book, or a quick Google will do the job. I like drawing various leaves, like a fall maple leaf or a red oak leaf. Don’t try to be a perfectionist. Just copy them out as best you can.
- Label – Label each leaf so your children can start identifying the leaves. Labeling is something children will see as they read more books. The book I previously mentioned, Why Do Leaves Change Color?, is a lifesaver in naming leaves.
Supplies You Need to Stamp with Leaves
- leaves*
- craft paint or fabric paint
- paint brushes (regular acrylic brushes or foam brushes both work)
- something to stamp onto: paper, wood, fabric, etc. (see more ideas below)
*You can use real or faux leaves. I recommend real for the most realistic details, but faux will still give you the basic shape/outline of a leaf. When using real leaves, you want to find leaves that are still alive—if they’re dead and dried out, they’ll just crumble and fall apart. So, if possible, find leaves that have freshly fallen or even pick them off of trees/plants yourself (which is what I did). And then try to use the leaves immediately or soon after so they don’t dry out before you get a chance to paint stamp with them.
What Can You Make With Stamped Leaves?
You have so many craft project options with stamped leaves, so get creative! You could stamp:
- cards: I used this textured cardstock for my cards (which added even more fun detail to the stamped leaves), cut the sentiments with my Cricut Maker, and used this glue to glue them down (which I highly recommend for detailed papercrafting like this!)
- scrapbook page
- notebook cover
- canvas art
- wood art
- t-shirt
- tote bag
- makeup bag: I found the little blue makeup bag at Dollar Tree
- throw pillow
- table runner (could be fabric or poster paper/kraft paper)
- placemats (could be fabric or paper)
- pumpkins
- and…probably a million other things
Basically, you can stamp onto anything that will take craft paint or fabric paint.
If you’re stamping onto any kind of fabric that will get washed or handled regularly, I recommend using fabric paint and following the instructions for how to heat-set it so it’s permanent. I have used regular craft paint on fabric before, let it dry, and heat-set it with an iron and didn’t have any problems with the paint washing out…but I can’t guarantee you’ll have the same experience, so…I’d go with fabric paint to be safe.
How to Paint Stamp with Leaves
Before you get started painting, lay out a disposable plastic tablecloth or some scrap paper (I like to keep paper that comes in packaging for this) to protect your work surface. You’ll also probably want a cup of water to wash out brushes and some paper towels for potential messes.
If you’re stamping a card like I did, you can put a piece of scrap paper in between the front and back of the card so you don’t get paint on the back.
For the best stamped details, I recommend painting the backside of leaves if you’re using real. For fake leaves, it kind of depends on your leaf—try it both ways and see what you like better.
Brush on enough paint to coat the leaves lightly, but too much paint will make your print blotchy and take away from the detail of the leaves (you can see what I mean with the blotchy orange leaf, my first attempt). Paint the stem, too, if you want.
Working quickly so the paint doesn’t dry, flip your leaf over and stamp it to your base, pressing all over the leaf, especially along the veins (you can see that I forgot to do that in a few places and the middle lines didn’t transfer). Don’t forget to press along the stems, too.
Here you can see the difference between a stamped faux leaf and a stamped real leaf:
Both are fun, but I definitely prefer the detail of the real leaf.
Continue stamping leaves until you’re happy with your design.
Feel free to add in any details you may have missed with a small paint brush or toothpick afterwards.
Can you stamp a leaf more than once?
Yes! You can use a leaf at least a few times and still get good stamped results the subsequent times. I recommend re-applying paint in between, and using the same paint color (unless mixing colors is what you’re going for).
Also, after picking leaves, they’ll eventually dry out and become too brittle to use so keep that in mind when planning this project (I wouldn’t pick leaves in advance. I think I was okay using mine for an hour or so, but they were definitely dried up by the next day).
