Leaf Activities for Kids

Fall is right around the corner in the northern part of the world, which means it’s time for activities using leaves and learning about leaves. Here are some go-to activities and printables for fall that allow you to bring leaves into the classroom.

Of course you’ll want to start with a nature walk to gather some leaves. Then you can sort them by color with these printable cards from KC Edventures, or use the cards from Preschool Powol Packets to identify the kinds of leaves you’ve found.

Try matching leaves you find with other, similar leaves, like this activity from Schooltime Snippets. (It also includes other activities inspired by the book Leaf Man, which are lots of fun.)

You’ll also want to learn about the parts of a leaf with these resources collected by Gift of Curiosity, and try this activity that’s from the same blog exploring how leaves get water.

You can use some of your leaves to make bookmarks, as in this activity from Mommy Evolution. Or use your leaves for cutting practice or punching holes; both ideas are from the OT Toolbox.

And if you’ve got a yard or a playground full of leaves, you can make yourself a leaf maze or labyrinth for kids to explore. This idea is from Happy Hooligans.

Make sure you preserve some of those leaves for other crafts through the season or to decorate your Thanksgiving table. Red Ted Art has a rundown of the best methods for leaf preservation.

Get a full Montessori-inspired, leaf-related set of activities from Mama’s Happy Hive, which includes activities using real leaves as well as leaf shapes.

And if you don’t have any leaves you can use these printables to do a leaf shadow matching activity from Tot Schooling. Or make a roll and count fall leaves activity like this one from l (make felt leaves or punch shapes out of real leave if you don’t have leaf scatter to use).

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Leaf Reading and Writing Activities

The celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is important throughout Mexico and other parts of the world. Her feast day is Dec. 12, and the celebrations honoring her appearance to Juan Diego in 1531 begin a few days before that.

Whether you celebrate yourself or just want to share about the celebration at home or in your classroom, Las Mañanitas: The Beautiful Celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a good place to start. The book, by Ernesto Joel Vega Rosales and Jeanette Gonzalez Seneviratne, with illustrations by Dana Sanmar, tells the story of a family’s celebration of the feast day in both English and Spanish.

They prepare with a novena, which is nine days of prayers and preparations. The children, Lucia and Pablo, are given special outfits made by their grandmother that look like what Juan Diego might have worn when he saw Our Lady. The book describes the prayers that are made each day, such as a prayer for respect for life, for families and for the indigenous people of the Americas, to name a few.

As told in the book, Juan Diego was a native Mexican born near modern day Mexico City. His given name was Cuaauhtlatoatzin, which means “He who speaks like an eagle.” When he converted to Christianity his name was changed to Juan Diego, and as he walked to church he passed a hill called Tepeyac. One day he heard the birds singing especially beautifully and a voice called him to go to the top of the hill.

There he saw Our Lady of Guadalupe, who asked him to tell the bishop she wanted a chapel built in her name at the foot of the hill. The bishop asked for a sign that Juan Diego really saw her, and later she had him collect flowers that she blessed and take them to the bishop. When Juan Diego dropped the flowers, an image of Our Lady could be seen on his cloak, which is still on display in her basilica to this day.

The feast day is celebrated as mañanitas, which includes singing, indigenous music and dancing, and children presenting flowers to Our Lady. Juan Diego is remembered today as being humble, brave and faithful, and was the first indigenous American made a saint.

The book is colorful and tells the story in a clear way, and it’s fun to have it both in English and Spanish if you teach Spanish or speak Spanish at home or in the classroom. It’s a great way to learn the basics of the celebration and the story of Juan Diego and why he is still remembered today.

About the book: 40 pages, paperback, published 2024 by Loyola Press. Suggested retail price $14.99.

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