Supplies to make this Handy Tree are in the pic below. If you would like to keep this project forever and ever and ever, I suggest using either pressed leaves or fake leaves. The one's we used are pretty fresh however in the interest of time and my 2 yo's attention span I decided to just go with them.
First thing this morning (as you can tell by the very cute dino-jammies) we went for a nature walk out back to collect leaves. The Lil' Guy decided that his wheel barrel would be the best thing to put them in and I think he was right!
We found lots of pretty leaves that had recently fallen. He was very picky about each leaf and thought the next one was always better than the last so he would take out the old leaf and put in the new one. Therefore I had to make a collection of my own while he was searching.
Once we found enough leaves we sat on the back patio and got to work. First we had to trace our forearms and hands.
Then, while I cut them out, I sent the Lil' Guy to collect some rocks to be used later. (I suppose I should have put that in the supplies pic...ooops.. if you don't have rocks available you can use your sissors)
Using the cutouts as the tree trunk, we began using glue to stick the leaves on our trees.
After attaching all the leaves we left our project in the sun to dry and then a couple hours later we had great new fall decorations for our kitchen!
Beautimus!!
First thing this morning (as you can tell by the very cute dino-jammies) we went for a nature walk out back to collect leaves. The Lil' Guy decided that his wheel barrel would be the best thing to put them in and I think he was right!
We found lots of pretty leaves that had recently fallen. He was very picky about each leaf and thought the next one was always better than the last so he would take out the old leaf and put in the new one. Therefore I had to make a collection of my own while he was searching.
Once we found enough leaves we sat on the back patio and got to work. First we had to trace our forearms and hands.
Then, while I cut them out, I sent the Lil' Guy to collect some rocks to be used later. (I suppose I should have put that in the supplies pic...ooops.. if you don't have rocks available you can use your sissors)
Using the cutouts as the tree trunk, we began using glue to stick the leaves on our trees.
"Handy" tip: If you would rather your kiddo not be in charge of squeezing the glue out, another fun way to do it is by squeezing some on a paper plate and giving them a small paint brush to paint the glue on.
Because our leaves were not flat we used the rocks to hold down each leaf as we glued them on.
After attaching all the leaves we left our project in the sun to dry and then a couple hours later we had great new fall decorations for our kitchen! Beautimus!!Note: Inspiration for this project was found at http://www.dltk-holidays.com/fall/mfalltree.html. I changed it up to suit our interests and skill level.
Using the sponges quickly turned into using hands... tis okay, baby wipes and a little soap and water will fix that! Besides its much more fun this way.
Afterward I taped a papertowel roll to the back for something to hold it up. And when all the parts are put together you get a great turkey puppet to play peek-a-gobble gobble gobble with!
But eventually dried as he held it while he was watching Dora...
