Art Activity: Leaf Rubbings

Materials

• Leaves
• Crayons
• Paper

Instructions

1. Gather some leaves in your yard or nearby green space. The key is to look for leaves that are still green (not brown and crunchy) and have some neat texture (look for bumpy veins on the underside). See if you can find different ways to sort the leaves you’ve gathered (size, shape, shades of green).
    
2. Grab some paper and crayons. Put your leaves down underside up (brighter green side down) and put the paper on top. Gently rub the crayon over the surface of the leaf in a nice, even motion. It might help to use the side of the crayon if you can. Can you start to see the lines of the veins?
    
3. You can make as many rubbings as you like from even a single leaf! If you want, you can cut out your rubbings to make a collage.

Bonus
See if you can identify the trees your leaves came from. Here are some great online resources:

The Woodland Trust

The Arbor Day Foundation