Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert is one of my favorite fall books. I love Lois Ehlert’s unique brand of art. Generally, she uses collages to illustrate her books, which gives them an appealing texture and points of interest as children find familiar items used in new ways. In Leaf Man, Ehlert’s illustrations are done completely from leaves and other items from trees (seeds, acorns, etc.). The pictures show a man, cows, chickens, fields, everything created from leaves. (Ehlert collected the leaves, then photocopied them and created the collages using those photocopies.) These pictures are fascinating, and really open up the creative eyes of the children as they read it!
After reading the story, I like to have the children create their own leaf pictures. Some will create a leaf man, others will create a more abstract design, while still others simply create a place for as many leaves as they possibly can! You may want to provide the leaves for an inside activity, or make the activity more hands-on and meaningful by letting the children collect the leaves themselves- out in your playground, on a walk, or on a trip to the canyon.
Have the children arrange the leaves on a black piece of construction paper. (I cut the standard sized sheet in half.) Once the child is sure the arrangement is ready, place a sheet of contact paper on top and fold the edges back to wrap the leaves in. Once sealed like this, the leaves will last for years! In fact, I’m almost certain that the sample above was made two years ago!
This activity definitely enhances creative thinking as well as an awareness of the shapes, sizes, and textures of leaves in the child’s surroundings. This awareness builds their natural science knowledge, while discussing the attributes of the leaves fosters science, math, and language skills.
For more favorite fall activities, click here!