I hope you all had a great Halloween! Now it's time to look forward to fall and Thanksgiving. To that end, next week will be the Thanksgiving Issue -- today we focus on relaxing before the holiday rush and enjoying some Autumn crafts. Until next time!
Autumn Trees - Go for a nature walk and collect many different colorful leaves. Trace the child's hand with their fingers spread on a large piece of paper. Trace all the way up to the elbows to make the trunk. Color the tree trunk if desired. Glue the leaves on the the branches of the tree (the traced fingers). You can also glue some of the leaves onto the 'ground' around the tree.
Hello Kitty for Autumn - My daughter is crazy about Hello Kitty and loves doing this craft for every season(she has different outfits for each holiday). I really like this particular version from DLTK because it is a foot and a half tall and the pieces are easy to cut out.
Leaf Prints - Collect a bunch of leaves and glue them onto a sheet of cardboard or heavy card stock paper. Let dry completely. Pour a small amount of paint into a paper plate. Dip a paint roller into the paint and then roll it over the leaves( you could also use a paint brush and paint the leaves different colors). Once the leaves are covered, lay a piece of construction paper over the painted leaves and rub it to get a good print. Lift the paper to see the print and let dry.
Pressed Leaves - Collect a bunch of leaves, put them between wax paper, and iron them together. They will stay colorful for a long time and they are nice to display in windows.
Paper Towel Leaves - Cut large leaf shapes out of plain white paper towels. Dip the edge of the leaf into a bowl of food coloring or water color and watch the paper towel soak up the color. You can dip into more than one color if desired. When done, lay the wet 'leaves' on wax paper to dry. These make fun mobiles when dry or you can mount them on construction paper.
Printable Sunflower Craft - This is a simple color, cut and glue together sunflower.
Aluminum Foil Leaves - Using a table, place leaves under pieces of aluminum foil and gently press and rub the foil with your hand to get a leaf print. Glue the foil leaves to construction paper.
Nature Collage - Collect things from a nature walk like leaves, twigs, small pine cones, acorns, etc. and then glue them onto a piece of cardboard. Let the child explain each of the things that they have collected to you.
Corn Painting - Use pieces of indian corn cobs to roll, stamp, and paint on construction paper. You can also experiment with using the dried shucks and the bare cob without any corn left on it. Kids love painting with things that are unusual.
Dry Leaves - Collect some dry, brittle leaves. Cut a large leave shape from construction paper and brush glue on it. Crumple up the leaves over the construction paper leaf and scatter the pieces over the glue. Let dry. (kids love crumpling the leaves!)
Toothpick Tree - Glue toothpicks to a piece of construction paper to make the trunk and branches of a tree. Use a sponge to make the leaves with paint. You could also glue leaves that you've collected onto the toothpick tree.
Toilet Paper Roll Scarecrow - An easy craft for parents and kids alike. Print out the template (there is a black and white and a color one), cut out all the pieces and glue onto a toilet paper roll.
