25 Leaf-themed Activities for Kids (+ the After School Linky)

Fall is drawing near. When it's here, why not capitalize on all the beauty outdoors with some fun, creative, and educational activities? Here are 25 of my favorite leaf-themed ideas.

ART & MUSIC

1. Make some leaf figures to use when singing the 5 Little Leaves rhyme (pictured above from Boy Mama Teacher Mama).

2. Create origami leaves (from Bloomize).

3. Make leaf rubbing plates to use again and again (from 5 Orange Potatoes).

4. Find the most stunning fall colors and preserve the leaves forever (from Mama Smiles).

5. Liquid watercolors and coffee filters make the perfect medium to recreate fall leaves (from Boy Mama Teacher Mama).

6. Teach kids about cubism and help them put the principles into practice with a leaf painting (from Kids Artists).

SCIENCE

7. Quiz kids on their leaf IQ with these free printable identification cards (pictured above from Look! We're Learning!).

8. Use leaf rubbings to explain the parts of a leaf (from KC Edventures).

9. Look! Tree leaves breathe! This science experiment proves it (from Spoonful).

10. Collect a handful of leaves and give them to your child to find the matching tree (pictured above from A Mom with a Lesson Plan).

11. Collect leaves and have kids classify them using identification cards (from Two Little Seeds).

12. Why not explore chromatography and why leaves change color? (Both Almost Unschoolers and Scientific American have experiments to do just that.)

13. Give kids a free printable leaf book, hunt for specific species of trees, and make a rubbing of their leaves (from Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational).

GAMES

14. Play a game of Fall Leaves BINGO with this free printable (pictured above from Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational).

15. Toddlers and preschoolers will love this simple (free printable) leaf matching game (from Mama Miss).

16. Play a game of memory with free printable photos of autumn leaves (from Mr. Printables).

17. Kids will love the challenge of matching leaves with their shadows (from Totschooling).

LANGUAGE ARTS/READING

18. Have kids practice letter sounds, basic sight words, rhyming, identifying syllables, and so much more with a great free fall-themed activity pages (pictured above from This Reading Mama).

19. Make practicing letters fun with leaf shapes (from 123 Homeschool 4 Me).

20. Rhyming skills are put to the test with this Tree Word Game (from No Time for Flashcards).

21. Kids will love the activity pages Find the Ll’s, Ll Tracing, Leaf Sentence Writing, Leaf Statement Writing and more - including math (free from 3 Dinosaurs).

22. Children use fine motor skills to practice word families when they add leaves with beginning sounds to tree branches labeled with word endings (from Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational).

MATH

23. Practice addition facts with artificial leaves and a free Math Fact Tree printable (pictured above from The Educators' Spin on It).

24. Study perimeter and area with leaves (from Our Journey Westward).

25. Make a grid with tape on the floor and have children sort and place leaves by color for a graphing exercise (from Little Giraffes). 

Last week's linky had loads of great ideas. Here are my five favorites.

1. Estimating the Circumference of an Apple from Gift of Curiosity.

2. Apple Pickin' Time Math Game from Boy Mama Teacher Mama.

3. Moon Shadow from Doodles and Jots.

4. Spelling Games with Mixed Up Words and Apples from JDaniel4's Mom.

5. Fun Halloween Activity for Kids: Self-Inflating Ghost Balloons from Mama Smiles.

The After School Linky is cohosted by

Boy Mama Teacher Mama

Mama Smiles

Planet Smarty Pants

Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational

The Educators' Spin on It

The Measured Mom

This Reading Mama

We would love to have you link up your School-Age Post (Ages 5 and up) about your learning week after school including Crafts, Activities, Playtime and Adventures that you are doing to enrich your children's lives after their day at school, home school, or on the weekend!

When linking up, please take a moment to comment on at least one post linked up before yours and grab our after school button to include a link on your post or site! By linking up, you're giving permission for us to share on our After School Pinterest Board and feature an image on our After School Party in the upcoming weeks!