Autumn is here and leaves are asking to be played with. Hours of fun can be had simply kicking leaves about and watching them float to the ground. Here’s some other ideas most of which are instantaneous and require no other or just a few props.

 

1. Creep and Crunch

Have someone sit on a big bed of leaves in the middle of a circle with lots of leaves inside it. They should close their eyes. Try and creep up on the person as quietly as possible without being heard. If the person sitting on the leaves points at you, you go back to the outside of the circle. If you reach the person and touch them, then change places.

2. Guess the Leaf

Find a selection of leaves. Get a friend to close her eyes and feel one of the leaves. Then she can open her eyes and work out which leaf she felt.

3. Treasure Hunt

Make a pile of fallen leaves. Find some treasure to hide in it. This could be a conker, stick or even something man-made like a football. Then have fun burrowing into the leaf pile to find the treasure.

4. Sticky Leaves

Dampen a leaf and stick it on the bridge of your nose. See how long it can stay there without falling off. Experiment with different leaves to find out which works best.

5. Save a Leaf

Catch a leaf before it falls to the ground. It’s a special job – only nature superheroes need try this. This is extra tough if villains chuck lots of leaves into the air. How will you catch them all? Some people believe you can make a wish if you catch a falling leaf.

6. The World’s Strongest Leaf

Float a big leaf on a puddle and see how many stones it can hold before it sinks or the stones slide off. Does the size of a leaf affect its strength?

7. Leafy Wellies

On a wet day stick lots of leaves on your wellies. Which shape or leaf species works best?

8. Sew a Leaf

Use conifer needles such as pine or spruce. Try sewing two leaves together. If it works, create a chain!

9.Leaf Twirling

Pick a leaf with a sturdy stem. Hold it between your thumb and index finger and rub them together to make the leaf twirl back and forth. This can be quite tricky to do with some leaves. Expert leaf twirlers can twirl two leaves – one in each hand at the same time!

10.Animal Impressions

How many different animals can you mimic using only leaves as props?

11. Play leaf pairs or snap!

Just like the card game – but just use leaves (thanks Mandy Tulloch for the idea, many years ago). Have a look at this autumn memory game too.

12. Throwing leaves

Collecting leaves into a big bunch and then throwing them into the air, is fun – capture the moment using a “slo-mo” video. Putting leaves onto a parachute allows for group work of a similar sort.

This blog post is an updated version of one that originally appeared in September 2013. Want more suggestions? Type in “leaves” to the search button under Juliet’s photo in the RH column.