Leaf Collages

My boys have looked forward to making their leaf collages all fall. They've not so patiently waited for the trees to turn colors and Sunday morning we finally got to go on our leaf hunt. The three minis collected leaves of all colors, twigs, bark, grass, and anything else they could find (including a piece of mashed cupcake from the park) on our walk along the bike trail in Urbandale. Today, the kids were finally able to their leaf collages.



I cut clear contact paper to size, let the kids stick all of the fall goodies on, and stick another piece to the back. Contact paper is extra sticky and as long as there are no leaves or anything too close to the edge, it keeps everything is place nicely and looks great! I like to use the contact paper because it's safe for all of the different ages I have.

This is the third year I have done these leaf collages with the kids and they are a hit each year!

Pumpkin Bowling

This past weekend, we took the three minis to Living History Farms Spook On Halloween Event. One of the activities they had set up for the kids was pumpkin bowling. I was pumped to have the kids try it out, but much to my disappointment it was done with basketballs and NOT pumpkins. "Why the hell even call it pumpkin bowling??" I complained.

So, I got the bright idea to try it here at home with the minis and daycare kids. I used empty pop bottles decorated with Halloween and fall stickers (an afternoon project for the kids) and mini pumpkins. I let the minis have a go at it this evening:

Since I have kids ranging in age from 1 to 5, I only used three pop bottles for them to knock over. The test run got approval from all.....as long as I reiterated the "keep the pumpkins on the ground, not in the air" rule every minute!

How shocking that Elizabeth didn't follow the "Keep it on the ground and roll it" rule!