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).