How To Play With Leaves

Sometimes, all it takes is a child’s imagination to transform the most mundane and boring things about life, into something wonderfully interesting! In this little exercise that is our attempt to think like a child, we have come up with several ways to make sleepy, hanging, outdoor objects - leaves, come alive and present to us interesting opportunities by which to play and explore the world around us. 

We hope that in reading this, you too will be inspired to go on a leaf collecting walk with your own little one, to try out some of the fun ideas presented below. Feel free to also come up with ways of your own to play with leaves, and write to us to let us know about them - we'd love to hear :))

1. Mimic a leaf on a tree. Use your body to sway and swirl in the breeze in the same way as the leaf does.
   
   
   Generated using mid journey.
   
   
2. Scatter a hand full of leaves in a hallway/ passageway and pretend that those are the only stable stones in an otherwise broken building. Every time you pass through the area, ensure that you only step on the leaves to avoid falling through, deep into the earth! 
3. Collect leaves of different shapes, sizes and colours and create a fun rangoli with it outside the door of your house. 
   
   Leaf and petal collages by Kathy Klein
   
   
4. Take turns blowing a leaf across the ground or try to blow it into a designated target area.
5. Find a big leaf and challenge yourself to see how small a piece you can fold it into.
6. Have a friend/ parent hide leaves around your home/ courtyard/ backyard and task yourself to find each of them.
7. Gather a large pile of leaves and jump right into it. Roll around in it for some extra crunchy fun.
   
   Autumn Sonata by Arief Putra.
   
   
8. Tear large leaves at their veins to make long strips of green. Weave them together to make yourself a pretty bracelet or an anklet!
9. Collect a variety of different leaves and arrange them in a sequence to create a visual story with interesting characters and plot points!
10. Collect leaves of different shapes and sizes and use them as instruments by tapping, rustling, or crunching them to create unique sounds.