With spring arriving and all the new leaves unfurling, it’s time to revisit a darling book we read way back when the kids were in preschool/kindergarten. This was a great Book and Activity that we read as part of our botany study for My Father’s World (leaf and apple theme). Of course, this book is a bit more fantastical, so it’s barely a botany lesson. All right, really, it’s just us having fun with a picture book.
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Leaf Men book
Leaf Men– This is a super cute book about an old woman who is sick, and how the bugs in her garden are worried. They summon Leaf Men (who are a lot like elves) to help them save the day.
After we read this, the kids all wanted leaf men. So we made some. I based the craft on The Felt Wee Folk book I checked out from the library last fall.
Making our Leaf Men craft
To make this you need a sheet of felt (it always pays to have a giant pile of felt on hand), 2 pipe cleaners, a small wooden bead, and some glue (Future Ticia here, looking back now, I’d totally use a hot glue gun to get this done quickly and not have to wait for the glue to dry).
Oh, and markers.
Twist the 2 pipe cleaners into roughly a human shape.
Cut out a leaf shape from the felt, and then cut out pants.
Sew on the pants really fast, and then sew the leaf man on.
While you do this, let your kid happily color the wooden bead and draw a face, or something approximating a face. Sorry, this is the only photo of the in-process. The kids were a little eager to get their guys. Future Ticia went and remade the craft so I could have some in-process pictures, and because I love making little figures like this.
Once all the clothes are on, put on your head. If you can pry it away from the kids long enough, glue the head on (our heads didn’t get glued on until that night because they wanted to play with it NOW!). This meant I had to put the heads back on a lot. Future Ticia here, this is why, after the fact, I’m saying use a hot glue gun, it only takes a few seconds to glue on and cool.
And if you’re Princess, decide that your Leaf Man needs a feather. It’s much cuter that way.
Batman’s the only one that had a discernible face. Notice the stick sword. We had to make a special trip to the park to find that one. It works perfectly with the book, so I quite approve of it.
The kids had a blast helping me make these. We’ll probably make more as the inspiration hits us. They’re fun and cute.
Extension activities for the Leaf Man book
I made our leaf clothes based on the most common leaf in our area, live oak leaves, so they’re a pointed oval shape. So, try making several different shapes of leaves, and see what clothes you could come up with. That could be a great way to pull your older kids into the book.
More leaf projects from my friends
In the almost ten years since I first wrote this, I’ve made a lot of blogging friends and read lots of blogs, and here’s some great ideas to extend your learning fun.
- leaf identification flashcards
- leaf transpiration experiment– this is pretty similar to the experiment in My Father’s World
- Fall Leaf Print Painting
- L is for Leaf (My Father’s World printable)– I think she started coming out with these right after I finished My Father’s World.
For more book-inspired projects and crafts
- Invisible Ink lesson
- Legend of the Bluebonnet
- Danny and the Dinosaur
- Legend of the Indian Paintbrush craft
- Pecos Bill lesson
Originally published September 3, 2009
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