Games With Leaves

Playing Detective

• Put all those fall leaves in your back garden to good use with this game for preschoolers. Choose a clear, dry day and instruct the kids to help you collect all of the fallen leaves. Ask them to pick out a leaf pattern they like the most and then get them to see how many of the same type of leaf they can find in the pile. Not only will it allow them to work on their observation skills, but they'll be helping you to clear up the garden in the process.

Never Touch the Ground

• Choose a windy day in the fall and take your kids out to play this next game. Instruct them to catch as many leaves as they can before they hit the ground. To make it more challenging, give the game a time limit and then award a prize to the child with the most leaves at the end.

Leaf Rubbing

• For this next activity, direct the children to go outside and collect a leaf of which they like the shape and texture. Green leaves from branches are better for this exercise than brown, dead leaves. Next, the children will need some light, colored construction paper and a crayon so they can create crayon rubbings of the leaves. This is a great way to illustrate to children the different parts of a leaf, such as the veins.

Sun Prints

• This activity requires some colored construction paper, leaves gathered from the yard, tape and some glue. Instruct the kids to attach the leaf to the construction paper with the glue and then tape the paper to a window making sure that the leaf is facing the window. After four days, or when you start to notice that the paper's color is fading, remove it from the window and remove the leaf. A print of the leaf should remain. Complete the activity by framing and hanging the print.