Have fun with your toddler with this leaf printing activity

If you’re looking for a thrifty art project for preschoolers to do today, make some leaf prints!

Leaf printing is fun and easy, and produces a piece of art pretty enough to hang on a wall in your home. It is also a great project to help children to recognise the trees and plants in your garden based on the form and complexity of their leaves.

What you need

• Real leaves
• Paper or fabric
• Poster paint
• Fabric paint or acrylic paint
• Paint palette
• Paint brushes
• Newspaper

How to make it

1. Have some fun outside with your child collecting leaves of various shapes and sizes. Both fresh and fallen leaves will work for this craft.
2. Cover your work area with newspapers. Help your child prepare different colours of paint on a paint palette. Add just enough water to make the paint spreadable but not runny.
3. Cut your paper or fabric to the desired size.
4. Take one leaf. Flip it so that the underside is facing up. Let your child paint the entire surface of the leaf.
5. Help your child to carefully place the leaf, painted side down, on the paper or fabric. Ensure that your child presses firmly for several seconds to transfer the paint from the leaf to the paper or fabric.
6. Remove the leaf to reveal a leaf print.
7. Repeat the process using different colours and other leaf shapes to fill the paper or fabric with leaf prints.
8. Once your child is happy with how their picture looks, allow the paint to dry completely.