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Leaf Dances

Leaf Dances

The wet-on-wet watercolor technique will help young artists capture the movement of falling autumn leaves.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

Gather all the supplies needed to bring your craft ideas to life! From paints and markers to glue and scissors, our crafts section has everything to spark creativity and make every project truly special.

Steps

  • Step 1

    Read a book such as "Leaf Man" or "Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf" by Lois Ehlert. Talk about why leaves change color in the fall because there is less sunlight and leaves need the sun for photosynthesis, which is how plants get nutrition and turn green. With less photosynthesis the green color disappears and other colors in the leaves become visible. Ask children to name some of the colors they see in autumn leaves.

  • Step 2

    Take the children outside on an autumn day. Ask them to notice the leaves on and off the trees. Does it look like they're dancing as they fall? Have them collect a few leaves from the ground (not ones that are still attached to trees). Encourage them to choose ones with different shapes and colors.

  • Step 3

    Have children create a painted leaf collage. They can begin by moistening a piece of watercolor paper and then using a brush and watercolor paint to add splashes of color to the background. Then have them dip the leaves they collected in various colors of watercolor paint and press the leaf onto the paper. When the work is dry they can embellish and accentuate the leaves with crayons.

  • Step 4

    Ask children to present their leaf paintings and talk about the colorful and dancing autumn leaves.

Standards

ARTS: Explore and invent art-making techniques and approaches.

SCI: Use observations to describe patterns of what plants and animals (including humans) need to survive.

Adaptations

Have children form a few groups and ask each group to create a dance that evokes the feeling of falling leaves.

Have children collect more leaves of various shapes and colors and use them to make a collage.