Autumn brings a treasure trove of vibrant colors and textures, a real-life palette that invites little artists to play and create. And we have just the thing to help them kickstart their seasonal artwork – our fabulous dry leaves fall tree craft! This nifty craft is o make when paired with our free tree templates! Here’s how you can set up a delightful crafting session and the fantastic learning experiences it brings.
WILL YOU MAKE A DRY LEAVES FALL TREE CRAFT WITH YOUR CHILD? PIN IT FOR LATER!
What You Will Need
- Our exclusive free tree templates, ready to be the foundation of your masterpiece
- Dried leaves in a variety of colors and shapes – the star players of our artwork
- Glue, for sticking the leaves securely to the template
- Optional: crayons or colored pencils to add extra details and personal touches
Creating Your Fall Tree
Download and Print: Grab our free tree templates to get started. Print them out on a sturdy paper to hold the texture and weight of the dried leaves. Alternatively, you and your little one can find small twigs and use them to craft your tree.
Leaf Collection: Go on a leaf hunt with your child, collecting a variety of dried leaves that catch your eye. It’s a fantastic opportunity for a nature walk!
Craft Time: Back at home, lay out all your crafting materials and let the creative session begin. Encourage your little one to glue the leaves onto the tree template, creating lush branches full of autumn colors.
The Learning Beneath the Leaves
The joys of creating a fall tree go beyond just a beautiful end product; it’s a learning-rich process:
- Fine Motor Skills: Handling small leaves and applying glue develops fine motor skills, a foundation for writing and self-care tasks later on.
- Color Recognition: This activity is a fun way to introduce your child to the warm hues of fall and help them recognize different colors.
- Creativity: Choosing where to place each leaf fosters creativity, giving children the freedom to express themselves through art.
Going Beyond the Tree
Once your tree is all set and dry, here are some extended activities you can explore:
- Storytelling: Encourage your child to craft a story about their tree. Who lives there? What adventures happen around it?
- Display: Find a special place to display the artwork, where everyone can admire your child’s creation.
- Seasonal Journal: If you loved this activity, why not make it a seasonal activity? Craft trees for different seasons and create a beautiful journal to showcase the changing seasons.
Crafting a fall tree using dried leaves and our free tree templates offers not just a beautiful piece of art to cherish, but a rich tapestry of learning and developmental opportunities for your child. So grab those templates, collect those leaves, and let the autumn crafting season begin, nurturing creativity one leaf at a time!
Age Suitability
This activity is good for toddlers aged children 3 years old and up with adult assistance.
Mess Level
The mess level for this activity is low.
Difficulty to Create
Low.
Skills Developed
Language development, shape recognition, color recognition, hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, imaginative play, creativity.
Toddler and Preschooler Curriculums, Books & TV Show!
Play2Learn Toddler & Preschool Programs for Curious Toddlers
There is no limit to your toddler’s energy and curiosity. That energy and curiosity although a joy can be challenging at times. Their interest in just about everything around them is what makes them great learners. One and two year olds can soak up so much just from their senses!
But as a teacher or parent that thirst for learning can be exhausting. That is why I created this toddler and preschooler program. To help you get the most out of this time with your curious toddler without having to come up with creative ways to play and interact with them.
Play2Learn for Toddlers includes 20 Units for toddlers. Each 2-week toddler unit has 20 super easy to set up and engaging activities for toddlers 18 months to 3 years.
Play2Learn Preschool which includes 20 Units for preschoolers. Each 2-week preschoolers unit has 20 unique and easy to set up and engaging activities for preschoolers 3 years to 5 years. That’s over 800 learning activities for your toddler and preschooler at your fingertips! So many ideas you and your child will never be bored again!
These toddler and preschool lesson plans and activities will definitely keep you and your toddler and preschooler busy playing and learning!
Click here for more information: Play2Learn
Designed for toddlers 18 months and up.
Book: Exciting Sensory Bins for Curious Kids
Did you know I wrote a book of sensory bins? Click here for more information Exciting Sensory Bin for Curious Kids. Or grab your copy at Amazon.
Boring afternoons are made exciting with awesome animal-based bins, like Salty Shark Bay or Yarn Farm. Pretend play bins like Birthday Cake Sensory Play or Bubble Tea Party encourage creativity and imagination. And your kids will have so much fun they won’t even know they’re getting smarter with STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) activities like Sink or Float Soup, Magnetic Letter Hunt or Ice Cream Scoop and Count.
Designed for toddlers 18 months and up.
Book: Super STEAM Activity Book for Kids
Learning all about science, technology, engineering, art, and math sets kids up for scholastic success―and it can be so much fun! Watch kids enjoy building STEAM skills as they color friendly fish, help water find its way to tree roots, solve math problems with mazes, and more.
Find out more and grab your copy here.
Designed for preschoolers 3 years old and up.
Book: Big Book of Riddles for Kids
Riddle me this: What’s an exciting way to practice critical thinking while having a blast? The Big Riddle Book for Kids, of course! From hilarious puns to tough brain teasers, kids can build problem-solving skills with hundreds of riddles tha. t show them how to think outside the box.
- 350 riddles for kids—Have hours of fun with riddles, puns and jokes, and math and logic puzzles that’ll get their wheels turning!
- Level up their skills—Riddles get trickier as kids progress through the book, challenging them as they get better at solving puzzles!
- Double-check their work—Kids can check their answers in the back of the book with a handy answer key.
Help children expand their minds while having fun with this puzzle book for kids!
Designed for kids ages 6 years old and up.
TV Show: Curious Crafting
I’m so excited to share my crafting TV show Curious Crafting which launched in July 2022 on TVOkids and TVOkids YouTube! Season 2 aired in August 2023! My show was also nominated in 2023 for Best Live Action Preschool Series by the Youth Media Alliance Awards of Excellence.
Curious Crafting Season 1 is also now airing in Australia on ABC! Watch it here!
Set in the ultimate crafting space, Curious Crafting is a short form pre-school age series about the joy of making crafts. I lead a rotating cast of adorable little preschoolers (including my own) making magic out of common household objects.
In each episode we transform recycled items into magical crafts like a milk carton school bus, paper bag puppet or cotton pad turtle. The crafters learn and laugh their way through each activity while demonstrating what their young imaginations can create.
Curious Crafting shares the adventure and joy of making art with takeaway lessons for creating crafts at home.
This show designed for toddlers and preschoolers 2.5 years old and up.
The Best Sensory Play Kits for Kids
Play is at the core of learning during the early years and it can take many forms. One of the most important of these is sensory play because it engages all of a child’s senses (taste, touch, smell, sight and hearing) and has a enoumous positive impact on brain development.
Our Sensory Play Kits are some fun and easy ways to keep your child engaged while at the same time using sensory play to nurture their mind!
Shop our ready made play kits here.
Designed for preschoolers 3 years old and up.
WILL YOU MAKE A DRY LEAVES FALL TREE CRAFT WITH YOUR CHILD? PIN IT FOR LATER!
