Nature's Canvas: Exploring Autumn's Leaves Through Art and Play

 

Curiosity and Wonder: A Season of Discovery

Children, when given the opportunity to express their creative ideas, will inspire you with the depth of their understanding of the world around them. I am excited to share with you a revised blog post from a few years ago about the creative explorations the children made as they inquired about leaves and trees. It feels like the perfect way to reflect as we end this year's beautiful autumn season. 

The children's interest in nature began in the Autumn with acorns, then grew into a fascination with leaves. As their learning journey continued, it sprouted into an interest in trees and how they grew. Their ideas and initial theories about leaves and trees were supported through several creative invitations where they could express their ideas and thinking.

The children asked to paint their collection of leaves. In the art studio, they used acrylic paint, and the leaves became the children’s canvas. As a secondary exploration, the children were presented with an invitation to draw using the Sharpie paint pens on pressed Autumn leaves. We used the wooden cubes with various types of lines drawn on them to inspire the children when drawing on the leaves. The children could roll the cube and then create one of the lines on their leaf.

The children used the natural lines they discovered on their leaf for inspiration. They traced the veins and then added their own line designs to the leaf canvas. The children also shared their observations about the shapes of the various leaves. They began to compare the leaves, discussing how many points each leaf had. When the children were finished, we collected their leaves to include with our documentation of this interest.

Books to Support Children's Interest in Leaves

We used the book Autumn Leaves by Ken Robbins to support the children through several stages of their wonder about leaves. It was placed at the loose parts table with the leaves for exploration. Eventually, it found its way to the writing centre, where several children used it to identify many of the leaves they collected. Lastly, we shared it with the children, reading it together and sharing a conversation about their discoveries.

We also shared the book, "Picture a Tree" by Barbara Reid, with the children. It is a wonderful book with beautiful plasticine illustrations depicting trees in all their glory. After reading the book, we watched a YouTube video of Barbara Reid. It was fascinating to see the process of her plasticine art, and it certainly inspired our little artists.

The children were then invited to create their own plasticine trees in the art studio. We opened the inside cover of Barbara Reid's book for inspiration. The children worked on foam core cut into various sizes and could choose between working on black or white as a background.

The children enthusiastically participated in this art exploration. Their ability to manipulate the plasticine to represent their ideas was extraordinary. We were so impressed with their creativity. However, because we couldn't find brown plasticine at the store, we also used this as an opportunity to introduce colour mixing into our invitation. The children mixed the three primary colours: red, yellow, and blue. This created brown plasticine, and the children were amazed as the colours transformed before their eyes. The children’s finished plasticine artwork was displayed along with photos of their experience. A beautiful gallery wall display to celebrate all that they had learned and explored.

Illuminating Leaves on the Light Panel

Presenting the leaves to the children in a variety of contexts allowed for new and various opportunities for exploration. The children's work with the leaves on the light panel led to some discussion about measurement. Several of the children placed small jewels around the perimeter of the leaves while other children covered the surface of the leaves with jewels. These experiences allowed us to discuss and compare the number of jewels used in each type of measurement.

Creating a Tree: Transient Art with Children

During the course of the children's investigations, they continued to fill the sensory bin with Autumn leaves. Their focus also turned to collecting sticks that had fallen from our oak and maple trees in the playground. They added the sticks to the sensory bin as well. To extend their ideas further, the children designed a tree using their nature collection as loose parts. We placed on the floor a large white sheet. Then, using their collected nature loose parts, the children collaborated and designed a detailed tree on the sheet. Through their placement of each stick, maple key, and the leaves, their discussions were rich with their learning. Each placement of a nature item reflected their understanding of the tree as a living being that grows and moves through the seasons. 

Our Autumn Tree - Collected - Gathered - Recreated

We concluded and celebrated the children's interest in leaves and trees with a collaborative art piece. It began with fine motor work as they wrapped their collected sticks with yarn. Each child chose a stick, and we tied the yarn onto the end. Then they wrapped the yarn around the stick. The yarn was secured with a small piece of coloured wire. The children could also add beads to their yarn if they wanted as they wrapped it around the stick. This work lasted several days, and many of the children created several yarn sticks. 

The autumn leaves were so beautiful and treasured by the children that we wanted to do something special to preserve them to celebrate all of the wonderful learning that had taken place during this interest. We created a wall hanging using the yarn-wrapped sticks and the children’s painted and line-drawn leaves. Here's how we created our hanging branch: first, fasten an eye hook into each end before adding the yarn-wrapped sticks. Then use jute rope to hang the birch branch from two hooks. Next, add the yarn-wrapped sticks with leaves by wrapping the end wire around the birch branch. The end result was a lovely art piece celebrating the children's artistic capabilities. 

"Creative people are 

curious, flexible,

persistent,

and independent with a

tremendous spirit

of adventure and 

a love of play."

- Henri Matisse - 

Wishing you all many creative explorations!

Sincerely,