The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs

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A leaf usually has a large surface area, so that it can absorb a lot of light. Its top surface is protected from water loss, disease and weather damage by a waxy layer. Both of these resources are great for use in the autumn, either in the classroom or at home, to give children a fun and engaging arts and crafts task to complete. Why are autumn art activities important for children? I recommend having each child find at least 15 leaves of various sizes so that they have plenty of options for creating their own Leaf Men later. Ms Armit: The leaf is a major organ in plants in which photosynthesis occurs. Without photosynthesis, there'd be very little life on Earth, because when plants photosynthesise, they take in carbon dioxide, and release oxygen as a by-product. Challenge them to see how many leaves they can find around the neighborhood, or how many different kinds of leaves. While on your nature walk, encourage your children to keep their eyes out for any leaf people they see along the way!

This free nature craft for kids is one of our very favorites, because it’s truly zero prep and you don’t have to spend any money to have a great finished product. The green of the leaf is the chlorophyll, the pigment that absorbs energy from the sun. Some plants have evolved with large leaves to maximise the amount of light they can absorb, often found under forest canopies where they struggle for exposure to light. Plants get the carbon dioxide they need from the air through their leaves. It moves by diffusion through small holes in the underside of the leaf called stomata. Guard cells control the size of the stomata so that the leaf does not lose too much water in hot, windy or dry conditions. I’ve found that it’s helpful for young children to sketch out the “body” of a person on a sheet of paper. It’s used as a template for them to see how they want to glue their leaves to create the leaf person craft. If your children are older, they probably don’t need this extra step! You can see here, there's holes in the leaf, and with a lot of air moving from the waterfall, these holes stop the leaf from ripping.

Why are autumn art activities important for children?

This resource is also great for use at home, if you want to keep your child occupied during a weekend in the autumn, then this make a leaf man autumn art activity is a great way for your child to spend some time doing a creative arts and crafts activity. The water needed for photosynthesis is absorbed through the roots and transported through tubes to the leaf. Ms Armit: I told you. If you had a microscope, you would be able to see this even better. The stomata allows gases to flow in and out of the leaves.

The lower part of the leaf is a spongy layer with loose-fitting cells. These let carbon dioxide reach the other cells in the leaf due to the air spaces around them, and also let the oxygen produced in photosynthesis leave the leaf easily. Water Cal: I am liking plants a lot right now, so let's find out more on how the structures of leaves help plants to photosynthesise.Cal: OK. Right. I'll do this one here. So I'll put some on that side. Put some on the other side, like that. So is this what people mean by a well-manicured plant? If you want to add a fun creative task to your lesson plan during the autumn, this autumn art activity KS1 resource is the perfect choice for an arts and crafts task that students will find engaging. All you need to prepare for this activity is some glue, a pen, some paper, a pair of scissors, some googly eyes, and some brown autumn leaves. You can take your class outside into the playground to find some large autumnal leaves to collect for use in this activity, and students can use the leaves they have collected to create their own leaf man.