Autumn Crafts for kids Nature crafts

Using leaves to make an autumnal sun catcher

Using leaves to make an autumnal sun catcher

My children are little magpies, collecting leaves, conkers and acorns wherever we go. Over the weekend we had a lovely walk in our local woods where we went on a little scavenger hunt, encouraging them to collect different coloured leaves along the way. The sun was falling through the trees overhead and it was lovely to be out after a morning of heavy rain. My youngest ran and ran, only stopping when she came across a den amongst the trees, or to show us something she had found.

Using leaves to make an autumnal sun catcher

I wanted to use the autumnal leaves they had picked up so we brought them home and gave them a gentle wash to remove any bugs or dirt. I placed them on some paper towel to dry and cut a piece of sticky back plastic so we could make them into an autumnal sun catcher.

autumnal sun catcher

I removed the paper backing and they carefully placed the leaves on top. I think there was some kind of order to their leaves 🙂

Using leaves to make an autumnal sun catcher

I love the way my son pokes out his tongue when he concentrates.

leaf sun catcher

There was a really colourful selection of leaves of all shapes and sizes. When they had finished I carefully cut another piece of sticky back plastic slightly smaller than the first piece and placed it on top. The kids enjoyed pressing it down and getting rid of any bubbles or crinkles.

We stuck it in the window and watched the sun shining through the leaves. The kids loved that you could see the veins within the leaves.

what to do with autumn leaves

It’s such a simple Autumn sun catcher but a great way to use up any leaves you find at this time of year. What do you think of our autumnal sun catcher?

13 Comments

  • Reply
    bryanna skye
    September 27, 2018 at 11:05 am

    I did something like this with my grandma when I was a little girl – love that this is such a fun and easy craft to do with little ones 🙂 and very festive!

  • Reply
    Mellissa Williams
    September 27, 2018 at 2:43 pm

    That is such a lovely and simple way to righten up an autumn day and a great kids activity. You could link it to the National Curriculum too

  • Reply
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