Children love paint, printing and being outside. This
activity combines all three to produce artwork any toddler would be proud of!
First of all, we had a stroll around the garden looking for
fallen leaves. At this time of year, the colours are beautiful and Jacob very
enthusiastically searched to get a variety of colours and shapes in his basket.
Once he’d collected enough, I put them to dry on an old
newspaper and then pressed them underneath some heavy books for about an hour. This is his collection.
Now for the negative printing! Ideally, this is best done
outside as it can be a bit messy. If it’s wet, as it was when we did this, just
make sure you cover the table with newspaper or a waterproof cloth. Place thin
card on to the table and get your toddler to position the chosen leaves
anywhere on top. It helps if you have small pieces of blu-tak on the back of
each leaf so they stay in place.
Now get your toddler to spray the leaves from above. You
definitely want to use coloured water rather than watery paint otherwise it
won’t work. You will end up with large drops everywhere rather than the fine
spray you want. Having experimented with different mixes, adding food colouring
to water worked best. The spray bottle we used had a push–down action that can
be a bit difficult for a toddler to master without help; a lever one may be
more toddler-friendly.
Next comes the fun bit – removing the leaves from the paper
to see the negative prints that are left. If your toddlers are anxious to see
the results before everything has dried, encourage them to lift the leaves
directly upwards so a clear image is left.
Result!
Love Chamomile Baby x x
Gorgeous Embroidered Babywear