But what do you do with all those leaves once you get home?  

When it comes to crafting with leaves, there really is only so many times kids want to do leaf rubbings.  And, if your kids are like mine, they don’t want to just throw the leaves away.  

Use some of those colorful leaves to make leaf creatures this fall.   It’s one of our favorite leaf crafts for kids. 

Leaf creatures are fun to make and really let kids use their imaginations.  It’s fun to see how each leaf will be used.

Turned one way that maple leaf might be an alien’s head; flip it over and it could become a butterfly.  The possibilities in this leaf craft are endless!

 You can also use those leaves in a quick fall nature bin.

Leaf Creatures

Materials Needed:

• Leaves
• Double-Sided Tape
• Markers
• Craft paper
• Wiggly eyes

Collect some colorful leaves on a fall walk with the kids.  Make sure the leaves are dry before you start crafting with them.

Depending on your child’s age, you might want to spark your child’s imagination by suggesting what a few leaves look like.  “This one looks like the wings of a butterfly!”

When you are ready to begin, secure the leaves to your paper with double-sided tape.

Use markers and wiggly eyes to help add details as you create your very own leaf craft pictures. 

My favorite part of this fall leaf craft is watching their imaginations come to life.

The kids carefully chose the leaves and arranged them on paper.  That little brown leaf really does make the perfect owl!

Once your child has created a picture or two with the leaves they collected, you may find that they want to look for more leaves. 

My daughter wanted to hunt our front yard.  She soon was talking about what each leaf would become as she picked them up.

She mulled over the leaves, looking for two that looked alike to become fairy wings.  And she chose a spiky, little leaf to make a cute hedgehog.

Tips for this Leaf Craft for Kids:

• You can press the finished artwork between 2 heavy books overnight to keep leaves from curling up.
• You could also cover pictures with clear contact paper if you wish to preserve them.
• Let your kids know what you plan to do with the leaves when you get home.  You may be surprised by how picky they become when collecting those leaves.  

We really enjoyed making our leaf creatures.  It’s such a fun leaf craft, and the perfect way to use some of those fall leaves we’ve collected on our walks.

You’ll also like:

• Apple Activities for Kids
• Awesome Camp Crafts

This post was originally posted on September 30, 2015.

The post Leaf Creatures: A Fun Fall Leaf Craft first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

Scavenger hunts also tend to have very little prep needed ahead of time, always a plus for busy parents.  

With this trail signs printable you can teach kids to make trail signs with rocks & sticks and leave all the scavenger hunt prep work to the kids.  

This simple activity would be a fun backyard summer camp idea.  

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Last year our homeschool book club read My Side of the Mountain and the sequel, On the Far Side of the Mountain.  In the sequel book Sam and his sister play a bit of a game, leaving trail signs for each other.  

We couldn’t wait to give it a try ourselves.  It proved to be a fun survival-themed summer day camp activity for kids of all ages. 

Trail Signs Printable & Activity 

Materials Needed:

• Trail Signs Printable 
• Sticks, Rocks, or Pebbles
• Small Toy to Hide

Download and print enough of the free trail signs printable for each child to have a copy.  To make them last longer you can laminate them or put them inside plastic sheet protectors.

Divide kids into two groups.  The first group will hide the small toy, using sticks or rocks to mark the trail, following the directions on the printable.  The second group will follow the trail signs to find the hidden treasure.

You can have a bucket of broken sticks and small rocks ready ahead of time.  Or, have the kids collect their materials as they create they path, meaning less work for you and more fun for them.

For the most fun, be sure the groups can’t watch each other as the toy is hidden and the trail is made.  

This may be the perfect time to have the waiting group make a duct tape water bottle holder or set up a solar oven to make s’mores.

Once the toy is hidden, have the second group try to follow the marked path using the trail signs printable.  

The goal is to locate the treasure (hidden toy). 

This activity is more fun when done in a large area, giving the kids plenty of space to get creative with their trails.  A park or camp ground is perfect.

Once the group discovers the hidden toy, it is their turn to hide it and lay out a trail.

I had the kids follow the path back to their starting point, picking up the sticks and rocks that were used so the next group didn’t get confused and follow the wrong set of directions.

Make sure you are courteous when doing the activity at a public place.  Don’t leave large rocks in the middle of a field for a tractor or lawn mower to hit.

This trail signs game makes a great camp activity can easily be modified for larger groups, with one group hiding the toy and the waiting groups working on camp crafts.  The waiting groups can take turns locating the hidden treasure and then creating a new path to follow.

Instead of hiding a toy, try hiding a treat for the kids to enjoy afterwards.  Even better, each group can hide part of a treat that can be enjoyed after everyone successfully follows the trails (like marshmallows, chocolate bars, and graham crackers to makes s’mores).

Not only will kid have fun with this simple trail signs scavenger hunt idea, but they will also learn a bit about how to mark a trail with rocks & sticks for others to follow.

You’ll also like:

• How to Make a Solar Still
• Build Your Own Tin Can Stove
• Make Scrumptious S’mores in a DIY Solar Oven 
• How to Make Colorful Bracelets with Straw Weaving 

The post Learn Trail Marking with This Fun Scavenger Hunt Idea (includes free printable) first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.