Leaf Man: a FREE Nature Craft for Kids

Have you read books by Lois Ehlert?
He uses natural objects to make beautiful illustrations.
And anytime I can incorporate reading or books into our learning, the better!

Leaf Man is one of our favorite books of his.
The leaves of our oaks and crepe myrtles are changing here in Texas, and as the nuts fall from the trees, it is the perfect time to go on a nature walk and collect items.
That’s just what we did this morning.

After we collected the nature items my girl found interesting, we sorted them into our Dollar Tree chip tray that is perfect for housing all our nature treasures.

Then we sat at our table and read Leaf Man.  My preschooler pointed to objects and told me what animals and items she saw in the illustrations.  It really is lovely seeing how Lois Ehlert used his creativity to make such vivid illustrations using natural items.

After we read the book, we played with our nature items and created different creatures like:

A brontosaurus
(she’s dinosaur obsessed yall… you can read about her Rainbow Dinosaur 4th birthday here)

Then she wanted to make a robber! I have no clue why.  We haven’t read any books about stealing, but this is what she wanted to create. I was really impressed with how she made her robber man.

See his little money bag?  It’s the black walnut, lol!
She then created a fish with leaves for fins and a cracked black walnut that I ran over with my car for eyes.  Those nuts are tough, I tell ya!

Why not a tree?

Lastly, we transformed the tree into a butterfly.  Can you see its’ oak leaf antenna, black walnut eyes and leaves for wings?

When we finished playing with our items, we placed them back into our Dollar Tree tray ready for play and observation another day.  Now to just keep my golden retriever from eating our sticks, cause she has… and she will.

I hope you feel inspired to get outside and play today!
God gives us such great beauty to partake in everyday- it’s just taking the time to see it.
Be sure to check out all the awesome Fall activities to do with your kiddos at the
Mommy and Me INC Fall Blog Party!

If you want more great ideas, please follow us on Facebook and Pinterest.

Some of our favorite Lois Elhert books:

                   

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