Autumn leaf activities for kids | Seasonal Autumn Forest

Before you start

Gather leaves that have already fallen, and choose dry ones, since wet leaves tear easily and can go moldy. It's worth a quick reminder that leaves, seeds, berries and nuts don't go in mouths, and a hand wash when you get home.

1. Leaf rubbings

Place a leaf vein-side up under a sheet of thin paper. Rub over it with the side of a crayon with the paper peeled off. The veins and edges appear like magic. Try different trees and compare the patterns.

2. Color hunt

Before the walk, paint or color small squares of paper in yellow, orange, red, brown and green. Children try to find a leaf that matches each one. Then line the leaves up from green to brown to show how color changes.

3. Leaf detective

Give each child a few leaves and ask them to sort them into groups: by shape, by edge (smooth or toothed), or by whether they are one blade or several leaflets. Older children can use our free field guide to put names to them.

4. Leaf creatures

Glue leaves onto card to make animals: a fox from orange leaves, a hedgehog with a body of brown leaves, an owl with birch leaves for feathers. Add eyes with a pen.

5. Suncatchers

Arrange small, flat leaves on the sticky side of clear contact paper (sticky-back plastic), cover with a second sheet, and trim into a circle. Hang it in a window to see the light shine through.

6. Leaf prints

Brush a thin layer of paint on the vein side of a leaf and press it onto paper. Printing the same leaf in different colors makes a great autumn card.

7. Leaf bingo

Draw a grid with simple descriptions: "a leaf bigger than your hand", "a leaf with holes", "a yellow leaf", "a leaf with more than three points". Cross them off on your walk.

8. A pressed leaf journal

Press a few favorites (see our guide to pressing leaves), then tape them into a notebook with the date, the place, and the tree's name.