Leaves

Months ago I purchased the FIAR Fall Nature Study and oh, how we are enjoying it! We haven't done every activity, so we have plenty to look forward to when Fall '09 frosts our window.

My country girls love nature anyway and constantly challenge me to delight in the simple pleasures of the seasons: the changing colors, the creepy crawlies, the simple sounds.

One tiny sentence in this nature study inspired some beautiful creations from my kids: Make a rubbing of the bark or a plaster cast of the leaves. We've been doing leaf and bark rubbings since the girls could hold a crayon, so we opted for a bit of variety. And I just happened to have a box of plaster of paris hiding in my craft cabinet waiting for a project such as this.

While they were out gathering leaves, I removed the top of their pencil boxes, lined them with wax paper and poured in the plaster (after following the mixing directions on the back of the container).

They set the leaves in the plaster and rubbed them until we were sure that the leaf pattern was set. After it dried just a bit, we used a knife to loosen and lift the leaf.


The leaves made a nice permanent imprint. Honestly I'm not real sure that this is a true leaf "cast," but it's what happens when I find usual craft supplies laying around and decide to wing a project.

A few days later, the girls were admiring the miracle of plaster, a decided it need a little color. I didn't have any watercolors to give it a soft finish, but I did have some tempera paint. Viola! A remarkable memory of fall:

Even the broken corners add to its charm.

I even think the color choices of the girls reflect each child's personality. But that's another post for another time.

Who knew that stopping to enjoy a fall day would lead to such artistic renderings? Imagine what you can do with your family with the simple nature around you!