Half a Leaf

Developmental Area
Artistic
Description
Art, Nature
Age

There is so much to discover in nature!

This activity encourages imagination, fine motor skills and nature play

Materials

For this activity you will need:

Learning Goals

With this activity you will learn the following skills:

Process Description

Summary

Encourage children to collect various types of leaves / flowers. Make observations / discuss size, shape, colour and structure of the materials collected. Fold the paper in half like a book. Cut each leaf in half and stick half of a leaf onto the middle line of the paper. Children can draw the missing half of the leaf on the paper and can use colouring pencils/crayons/pastels to add colour to the artwork or add a different piece of leaf on the missing part to complete the picture.

Adaptation

show images of animals, fold the paper in half and encourage children to draw what they think the other half looks like. Write the names of the animals and/or different types of leaves/flowers above each drawing and facts about each to encourage a literacy-rich environment.

Key Thought 1

Using nature as objects for drawing brings children closer to the details of the natural world.

Key Thought 2

Mirror drawings exposes children to symmetry in our world which is the concept of “the same” in the understanding of young children.

Key Thought 3

Children and if possible family members or community members can help to create the path.

Key Thought 4

This activity provides opportunities to develop observation skills, problem solving, practice of fine motor skills and encourages children’s languages as they talk about the shapes, colours, names and details of the natural resources

Key Thought 5

This activity equips children with skills to expand their free drawing skills. Making children aware of symmetries will enable them to recognise symmetries in nature (Villaroel et.al. 2019).

Adaptation

Do a nature walk and bring a camera. Encourage the children to find patterns in nature. What patterns or lines of symmetry can they find. Take pictures and allow the children to also take pictures (if possible). Print the pictures and make a patterns in nature poster. Write the names of the materials collected and discuss what was found.

Reflective questions

Ask these questions during and after the learning opportunity for critical and self-reflection

Looking and responding

Start by asking the children to describe what they see. Draw attention to details. These are sample questions that can be adapted using your expertise and knowledge of the children. Where is this happening; is it summer or autumn and how does this affect what we see out in nature?

I’m wondering what you were thinking when you were working with the leaves? How did they feel? What colours did you see?

Would you do anything differently, if you were doing it again?

Bibliography

  1. Centre for Early Childhood Development and Education (CECDE) (2006) Síolta: The National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education. Centre for Early Childhood Development and Education.
  2. Hsu, A. (2017) 12 Creative Sensory Walk Activities for Kids [online]. Available at: https://www.hellowonderful.co/post/12-CREATIVE-SENSORY-WALK-ACTIVITIES-FOR-KIDS
  3. National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) (2009a) Aistear: The Early Childhood Curriculum Framework. Dublin: NCCA.
  4. Thornton, L. (2016) Using natural materials to enhance children’s learning [online]. Available at: http://blog.optimus-education.com/using-natural-materials-enhance-children%27s-learning.

Author Bio

Wendy Oke
CEO, TeachKloud

TeachKloud is a cloud-based management platform for early childhood educators and parents!

Share

More Learning Opportunities and Activities

Area: Artistic, Cognitive
Age: Preschool, Toddler
Area: Artistic, Physical
Age: Early Childhood
Area: Artistic
Age: Preschool
Area: Cognitive
Age: Preschool
Area: Artistic
Age: Preschool, Toddler