Kids Crafts: Drawing Autumn Leaves

Do your children like to draw? I do, and so do my kids. Let's celebrate the season by drawing the world as we see it, not as we percieve it. (Don't write off this article if you think you "can't draw", read on, and try to challenge your thinking.)

During the autumn, we watch the leaves turn brilliant shades of red, orange, and yellow. Then they drift gracefully to the ground. I challenge you to go out into your yards with your children and let them pick a leaf, or two or three, which has fallen from the trees. Give them a paper and a pencil. Ask them to look at their leaf. Look at it and really see it. Ask them to take note of the outer shape of the leaf. Observe the stem and how the leaf grows out of it and is supported by it. Look at the transition from leaf to stem. Help them notice the veins within the leaf. Notice the beautiful patterns to be found there.

If you have very thin, soft drawing paper, like news print, have your child lay the paper over the leaf and, with chalk pastels or a crayon, lightly rub over the leaf and watch the leaf come to live on the page.

On another page, have your child look at the leaf and draw it. Instruct your child not to look at the paper, and not to lift the pencil. Try this a few different times, putting as much detail into the picture as possible. Then look at the result. You will be surprised. If you practice, these can become quite good. But either way, they are a great excersise in eye-hand coordination.

Then, if you child is still interested, ask them to draw the leaf by looking at it, and the paper. Remind him (or her) not to draw their idea of a leaf, but instead what they are seeing in front of them. Look at the lines on the leaf and draw them. Look at the way the light hits the leaf and draw that.

If they wish to add color, encourage them. But again, discourage the addition of simple green, or yellow, or orange, or red. Ask your child to look at the leaf. What colors do they see on the leaf? Where are those colors and how do they blend together? You and your child will learn a lot about the way you see the world, and about the things you miss on a normal basis. You will also learn a lot about the leaf.

Of course, limit the excersise to your child's age and attention span. You can break this up into several sessions if you like. I'll have my kids do this excersise tomorrow and will post some of the results for you. Hope you all enjoy the drawing!