A very important part of Aneliese’s day is doing art. Today we were short on time and so I decided to do a combination of art and nature walk.
A very important part of Aneliese’s day is doing art. Today we were
short on time and so I decided to do a combination of art and nature
walk. Armed with a basket and instructions to find about 10 beautiful leaves, Aneliese ran about collecting leaves and flowers in the yard and soon returned to the house with a good selection.
She laid out each piece with a bit of detail explaining why each one was chosen a we set to work with colored pencils and crayons. We tried doing leaf rubbings a couple of years ago but her fine motor skills were not developed to where she could do it which caused her to quickly lose interest. Even still, she found it a challenge to hold the leaf and paper still while coloring. She was amazed though at how the leaves showed on the paper.
Leaf rubbing is a simple yet fun way to offer a new perspective on nature. It’s a way to enjoy the variety of leaves and colors that can be found. It can be a social lesson in how the diversity of leaves is similar to how different we are as humans. We also took some time to notice how the veins of the leaves are a way of moving nutrients throughout the plant or tree so that they can live which we noticed is quite similar to how the veins work in our body. That may have been more fascinating to Aneliese then all of the leaf rubbing.
Even still I find that while she found it so neat and amazing, the art of leaf rubbing doesn’t seem to become Aneliese’s favorite activities. Perhaps because she still finds it a challenge to coordinate. But an easy activity that encourages the enjoyment of and pleasure in both art and nature!
Have you tried leaf rubbing?