Activity #1 - This art activity is a great one to use cross curricular with Science to teach about the observable features and parts of plants.
Materials:
- Leaves / flowers
- Any basic crayon with the wrapper removed
Find some leaves in an outdoor space near you. Taking one leaf at a time, place it under a blank page in your journal. Make sure the veins of the leaf face up. Fold the blank page over the leaf. Take a crayon in a colour of your choice and drag it horizontally across the page over top of the leaf. Continue dragging with more pressure to reveal the veins and patterns of the leaf!
NOTE: Once you've done one of these activities, make sure you keep your journal closed to flatten the leaves as they dry (you could even put something heavy on top of your journal to help!)
Activity #2 - This activity is an awesome way to teach kids about the patterns and symmetry that we can see in nature!
Materials:
- Leaves / flowers
- Glue of some form or tape
- Colouring materials of your choice
Find a leaf of your choice. Carefully rip the leaf away on one side of the stem, leaving only one half. Affix the leaf to your journal page. Try your best to re-create the other side of the leaf and colour it. You can stick to the original shape to practice symmetry or get creative with it!
Activity #3 - Leaf People!
Materials:
- A leaf of choice
- Glue or tape
- Drawing / colouring materials of choice
Affix a leaf to a paper or a page in your journal. Imagine that the leaf is the body of a person and draw the rest!