Kindergarten Games With a Leaves Theme

Contests

• Have leaf-coloring contests. Award prizes for the best, most creative and most realistic pictures. For an easy contest, give the children leaf-themed coloring pages to color using crayons and markers. Another idea is to have the children try to draw a leaf freehand on a sheet of white paper. Alternatively, allow the children to collect leaves from outside and place them under a sheet of paper. Tell the children to tear the paper off old crayons and place the crayons on their side to color over the leaf. This will make an imprint of the leaf on the sheet of paper.

Memory Games

• Print pictures of different colored and shaped leaves on small cards, two of each leaf. Place the cards face down on the table and allow children to play a game of memory match. If a child finds a matching pair, she can go again. If not, it's the next player's turn. The child with the most matches at the end of the game wins. Another idea is to tape several pictures of leaves on a board and have the children look at them. Ask the children to place their heads down while you remove a picture. Have the children look up and tell you which leaf is missing from the board.

Tossing Games

• Draw a large leaf on a poster board or sheet of butcher paper. Take a marker and draw circles with point values in each circle on the leaf. Have the children toss beanbags onto the leaf to try to score points. The child with the highest numbers of points wins the game. Another idea is to hang hula-hoops from the ceiling. Give the children leaf-shaped beanbags to toss through the hula-hoops. The player who makes the most wins the game.

Hunting Games

• Take the children outdoors for a nature leaf scavenger hunt. Have the children race to see who can find the most leaves in two minutes. Another idea is to see who can find a heart-shaped leaf or brown leaf in the fastest amount of time. For an indoor game, cut leaves out of construction paper and hide them all over the classroom. The child who finds the most leaves wins the game. Alternatively, call out a color and the first child who finds that color leaf wins the game.