Autumn Leaf Magnets

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We have had a lot of fun focusing on leaves, today. We were even able to remove a leaf from our fall bucket list. R looks forward to each leaf we take down, and it's been great to see him this excited every day.

For today's daily fall activity, we tried Toddler Approved's painting leaves in baggies. It was a success! Although, at first R insisted that just painting them with a paint brush would be much easier. He didn't quite understand why we were doing it that way. He's so analytical already. But once we got started, he really enjoyed squishing and swirling the paint inside the baggie. Here's what we did.

I used leaf cookie cutters to make a pattern on craft foam. I got the idea to use craft foam from this lovely blog, Boredom Busting Mommy, but we used green instead of fall colors. I pressed the cookie cutter firmly onto the foam, and when it was removed it left behind an impression. I cut them out following the impression, which saved me from tracing each one. I love craft foam!

We talked about how the leaves are green in the summer and start to change in the fall.  We briefly discussed the hows and whys and what colors we might see. We put a green leaf in a baggie and added a few drops of acrylic paint. We used red and yellow separately at first, and then we combined them to make orange. We closed the baggie and R squished and moved the paint around to cover the leaf. Then, we removed the leaf and set aside to dry. And to finish the painting portion, R painted one leaf brown with a brush. He just had to.

I thought they would make wonderful magnets, so I used magnetic tape and put a strip on the back of each one. We will keep a few and give away the others. We are taking one to R's speech therapist tomorrow. He's really excited about giving it to her and hopes that she displays it on one of her cabinets. I think they turned out really pretty and I love displaying them on our refrigerator!

I have linked this post to a Thanksgiving Traditions Linky at JDaniel4sMom. You could also write reasons you are thankful on the leaves for a proud display of your family's gratitude!

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