Our Leaf Animals

My niece, Shelley Johannes, is a marvelous artist. She is a many-times published children's book illustrator, and soon-to-be children's author as well (if she ever sends that manuscript in!). On one of her blogs (she has a few), she recommended this book: "Look what I did with a Leaf!" by Morteza E. Sohi.

I searched my library for this title, but it was nowhere to be found. I had to request it, and it finally arrived last week from the Georgetown Library (Jenison). Since it is a "seasonal" book, I can only have it SEVEN days. I thumbed through it the day before the grandchildren came over, and I just knew there were a few projects in this book that these kiddos would love. Plus, at the end of the book there is an actual Field Guide of leaves ~ perhaps we could learn a little something in the process!

Friday afternoon after school, the grandchildren and I went leaf hunting in the woods on the Marantha Bible campgrounds in Comstock Park. We gathered four bags of leaves ... enough for many projects!

Matthew made his turtle in a flash!

Saturday morning, we moved all of the furniture in my kitchen/dining area and spread out newspaper, making three separate areas for three very territorial grandchildren! Each child dumped out his bag of leaves and started ... creating! The children looked at a few samples from the book and then ... they just made the neatest critters!

The boys were extremely spontaneous and not at all particular about their animals. They were carefree and terribly joyful all throughout the process. 

Emma had a good time, too; however, she is a bit more perfectionistic in her nature and got a little bogged down with wanting her animal "just so." However, she did a lovely job with her kitty who she promptly named after her own little cat ~ "Belle." 

It took Chris about two seconds to make his parrot. He was very proud of it. I thought it was a beauty too. 

Emma made a turtle who was walking out in the woods while the leaves were "raining" down on it. 

Christopher patterned his leaf lion after his favorite stuffed lion that lives at my house. [Of special note, this little stuffed lion was Chris's favorite even when he was a toddler. And for Chris's second halloween, he had a great little lion costume.]

This was my absolutely and completely pathetic attempt to make a leaf frog. No further comments need to be made. The children even thought it was pitiful ... well, Christopher was honest enough with his comments to that effect, but Ems and Matthew smoothed it over by telling me that I done a "good job." 

This is only a little bit of the mess that I'm showing you ... there were literally leaves EVERYWHERE in this room. But since I have such beautiful floors in my Beach House, the clean up was a snap.  

Matthew fashioned this all by himself ...

 My side door is now nicely decorated for Autumn!

Matthew made another turtle, but this time the turtle was taking a walk with his best friend: a very smiling and happy dog! 

Christopher used a pair of my zig-zag scissors
to make the edges extra fancy on his lion

The book suggested using glue to hold the leaf design in place, but I'm not much with glue and three active children. I have an extremely low tolerance for stickiness about my house ... so I kind of copped out and decided to use the old wax paper thing. We simply placed our leaf animals on wax paper and then covered another sheet on top and used a rather warm iron to seal our picture nicely. And then, since it was such a bright sunny day yesterday, we taped them to my windows and let the sun light them up! I love them ... they are glowing in the sun even as I write!