I’ve mentioned before that this year we have our son enrolled in a local charter school. It’s a great hybrid program for our family. He attends on-site classes three days a week for a half day. In addition, we’re in charge of science, social studies, and physical education at home. I’ve had a lot of fun coming up with worksheets and activities to build and help supplement his curriculum. These leaf rubbings are a fun activity to do in fall, and helps support science and art lessons!
what are leaf rubbings?
Leaf rubbings are a great activity for toddlers and young children because they’re so easy! You also don’t need a lot of materials, and you don’t have to worry about anything breaking! I call that a mom win for sure, wink wink.
To make a leaf rubbing you simply place a sheet of paper over some leaves and use the broad side of a crayon to capture the image of the leaf on the paper. This activity is best done with “fresh leaves”. You know, before they get to the brittle, crunchy stage.
the benefits of this activity for your toddler
Even though it can be a little challenging at times trying to juggle teaching my son with my three other small children around, it has been really fun! One of the best parts is that I’ve been including my three-year old in the at-home lessons as well. It’s not always a perfect situation, but I like the idea of learning together as a family and being more hands-on in our approach. That’s one reason why these leaf rubbings are such a great activity!
Our first science unit is all about plants. We’ve talked a lot about the different parts of plants and their functions. So one of the activities that we did is go for a walk collecting all different kinds of leaves. We were able to talk about the purpose of leaves and their function for the plant. We even discussed the difference between leaves and needles, which led to a brief explanation of evergreen versus deciduous trees… homeschooling is a little bit like If You Give A Mouse a Cookie in that way.
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When we got home we made some leaf rubbings and I was surprised by how much fun it was for them! They even wanted to do it again a few days later. I don’t know about you, but when I find an activity that my kids enjoy, is free, and doesn’t make a mess I call that a win!
As you fill your paper, it’s fun for them to see the different sizes and shapes of all the leaves that they collect. Fall is the perfect time of year for this activity, and an extra bonus is that you don’t have to be “crafty” to do this! Plus, how pretty would this be if you covered a large sheet of paper and used it as wrapping paper? What a great way to involve the kids in gift giving!
Have you ever done leaf rubbings with your kids?
You might also like these fall activities:
Halloween Worksheet Printables
Thanksgiving Worksheet Printables
Find more fun ideas on Pinterest!
20 Responses to toddler leaf rubbings
What a fun project! I'm sure my son would love it!
What a fun idea!! And the perfect time of year for it!
We have "nature scavenger hunt" on the to do list soon – this will be a perfect way to use all the things my tiny tots discover!
I love doing these! My kids have so much fun collecting different leaves.
I loved doing this as a child! I can't believe I haven't had my kids do it, yet! Thanks for the reminder. 🙂
My kids love doing this! So much fun!
This is such a fun project to do with little ones! I am pretty sure we end up doing this every year, my kids love picking out their own leaf.
That is awesome! All three of my boys would love to do this. I love your idea of using it as wrapping paper. Perfect.
This looks like such a fun idea!
This is a great way to teach kids about nature, while doing something creative. Perfect fall activity!
It's fun. We'll collect leaves to make this project.
I used to do different types of rubbings when I was younger too, but this was the first time I can remember using leaves.
Oh good, have fun! 🙂
Thanks so much for you sweet comment!
I know, every leaf is so special to them, huh? 🙂
Kids love stuff like that!
Thank you so much!
My kids love doing leaf rubbings. Can’t wait to do some again this fall.
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