Leaf prints are another way that children can explore leaves and the Autumn months. Remember the leaves that the children have been collecting? You can now use those as a tool to make prints.

Start with one good leaf. Make sure that it is fresh enough that it won’t crumble when touched. Each child should have one good leaf in front of them. They can then choose a color of paint and cover the leaf with the paint.

There are two ways to proceed. The children can use the leaf as a printing block by pressing the leaf, paint side down onto paper, or s/he can press paper onto the leaf, paint side up. Either way, an impression of the leaf should be transferred to the paper.

What makes this interesting is that the children can compare the actual leaf to the print image. Is it the same? How? How is it different? Using this language, children can consider the properties of the leaf, the image and both together.