So says Sarah…

I had big plans for today, but the weather took a turn for the worse, and neither the tot, or I, were very motivated to do much of anything. While grabbing a few paper bags to take with us to run errands for a couple of very important rainy-day things, (yes, here in California we bring our shopping bags with us) got an idea for a festive fall leaf activity.

Recycled fall leaf wreath.

This is an easy activity to do with the kiddies and can be accomplished with real leaves or lovely silk ones. The tot and I gathered a few from the driveway before the rain got too crazy to mix with the fabric ones I had on hand. Then it was time to get out one of those garbage bags and create the base for the wreath.

Start by inviting your child to cut the sides and bottom of the bag so she has two flat pieces of paper.

Now your child can flip the bags so the writing sides are facing her and trace around the outside of a large mixing bowl with a washable black marker and then place a smaller bowl in the center of that circle and trace around it, too.

Get those scissors back out and cut out the large circle and then the center circle from both bags. Your child can flip the bags so the writing is facing the inside in preparation for the next step.

Just those two circles of paper bag are pretty floppy, so to give it some substance, grab a few plastic bags and a hot glue gun to stuff things up. If you’re working alongside a younger child, you might want to help with the hot glue gun part. But, older kids can do this step on their own (just offer assistance as needed). Encourage your child to use the hot glue gun to put a 3-inch line of glue around the outside and inside edges of the circle and then stuff with a bit of the plastic bag.

Your child can keep glueing and stuffing until the entire base of the wreath is finished. She’ll probably need about 2 plastic garbage bags to stuff the whole thing. Once things are all stuffed up tight, she can use the scissors to trim any spots where the black marker is showing.

Next your child can start glueing the leaves around the wreath using small drops of hot glue. She can layer the leaves however she’d like creating a densely filled leaf wreath or just highlight a few of her favorites.

Once your child is satisfied with her wreath, finish things off with a length of ribbon for hanging the wreath on the front door of your home!

Happy fall!