Leaf Day

A few weeks ago, as we wrapped up our summer/early fall term my oldest declared it leaf day.  What is leaf day you ask?  It was a day to celebrate fall and take a break from our regular studies to enjoy art, baking and a bit of science.

ART
Leaf Day was a day of art with different media.  We started by following this idea for painting a fall tree with q-tips.  As you can see, each child is different and put their own spin on their project.

Then we moved on to some fun with markers from Kathy Barbro. Kathy's site is great fun, with projects for all ages, abilities and intensities.

The last project was also from Kathy's site and a bit challenging for even me. It was a complete the leaf, copy its details and colors activity.

Baking

Between art projects we also pulled out our fall cookie cutters for some sugar cookie making.  Have you ever added autumn spices to your dough or glaze, try it, you will probably like it. Think ginger, nutmeg and a dash of cinnamon.  I love the way the sugar sparkles on the icing.

Science/Nature Study
Finally, we collected all of our Fall books for some reading and learning why leaves change colors.

Why Do Leaves Change Color?
Look What I Did with a Leaf
Fall Leaves Fall !
Fall Is Here I Love It!
Leaf Man

I f you still have leaves on your trees take some time to enjoy there beauty and make it a special day with the children.

A Bit of Fine Arts--Chalk Pastels

 Many months ago I pinned this great blog called Hodgepodge.  I pinned it because it had wonderful art lessons in acrylics and chalk pastels.  The chalk pastels really struck a cord with me and we have been able to focus a few of our lessons on this creative pursuit.  All you need to do is look at this blog post, pick your lessons, get some chalk pastels and some drawing paper.

We have had such a great time drawing and blending. I am amazed at what is possible with some easy lessons and a few good supplies.  We started with Angry Birds, I thought that would grab their attention right away.

B is 4 years old, I drew the bird and he did the coloring and finger smearing.

We also tried our hand at blueberries.

And a slice of watermelon.

Next we are going to try our hand at nature drawings with Thoreau in the woods.

It's Montessori Monday and I'm linking up.