Before you take a blower to the carpet of leaves in your garden, give your child a rake to carve some pathways. Older kids might enjoy making a formal labyrinth, mine usually starts with the first letter of his name and curves around willy nilly from there. It can be a great cooperative activity for a group of kids, too. … Read more

A single ginkgo leaf is a perfect, elegant beauty. Each November, we are lavished with a thick yellow carpet of them. To preserve at least a few, my crafty mom and niece created these lovely rose sculptures. You just need Ginkgo leaves of varied sizes and florist's tape. Roll the smallest leaf into a cone to begin the rose. Coil … Read more

What to do with all of those gorgeous leaves? Make them glow! You just need wax paper, an iron, construction paper, string, a twig and a battery-powered tea light. Heat up your iron. Tear off two pieces of wax paper (11" x 7" makes a nice dangling lantern - but you can play around with proportions). Lay the first piece … Read more

On a gusty Autumn day, bring some string along to an open meadow and collect an assortment of large, broad leaves (maple and oak work well). Tie them at intervals from the end of the string and off you go! They won't climb above the canopies, but it's fun to watch them dance overhead. :-) Read more

Simple yet magnificent! Next time you head into the woods, bring along a 2" x 20" long strip of card stock (or, we stapled together 2 folded letter-sized colored paper strips to get the right length and stiffness), double-sided tape and a stapler. Collect colorful leaves and other treasures from the forest floor and then arrange them on the paper … Read more