As vibrant summer greens give way to autumn, the world is brimming over with the season’s beautiful, rich earth tones.
When the foliage begins to fall, it presents a unique opportunity to spend some enriching time with your kids. It’s time to go outside, harvest nature's autumnal bounty and turn it into fun arts and crafts projects.
Leaves are the most obvious resource to use for crafts. To preserve the beautiful leaves and their colour long beyond autumn, coat them in clear wax. This will keep them from cracking and deteriorating. Hang the waxed leaves as an arranged wind chime, put them near an air vent and watch them dance in the wind long after the fall’s other leaves have disappeared.
Another fun leaf craft for children is to gather the golden yellow leaves and glue them to a thin strip of paper that has been glued into a circle. This creates a golden crown perfect for your little prince or princess.
Use walnut shells to make cute little walnut boats. Glue a stick to the inside of a walnut shell, preferably in the centre to give it balance. Then you can use a leaf covered in wax or a waxed piece of paper for the sail. Your kids can place with these little boats in the sink, tub or even down the river. Anyone who sees one of these little walnut boats floating down the river will be sure to get a kick out of it.