During this autumn season it is great fun to see the beautifully coloured leaves fall off of the trees to prepare for winter. This is a fascinating change for children to observe and they can support their learning by gaining first hand experience with nature and collecting leaves which can later be used in crafts such as to make leaf hedgehogs.
All you need for this craft is an outline of a hedgehog which can be printed off or drawn out, leaves, googly eye, pom pom and PVA glue. Begin by gluing the back of the hedgehog print out and sticking on the leaves to make the hedgehog spines. Add a googly eye and a pom pom nose to bring the hedgehog to life.
There are so many different learning opportunities with in this craft that link to the EYFS prime and specific areas:
Maths - Count the leaves the children have collected and discuss colour and size of the different leaves and how this could signify which tree they came from.
Literacy - Read a story about a hedgehog or explore a fact book to learn more about where hedgehogs live and their habitat. To expand on this older children could create a story board using their hedgehog craft as the main character.
Physical development - Children use their gross motor skills when walking and crunching through the autumn leaves on the walk to collect leaves for this craft. They also use their fine motor skills when using a glue spreader to to stick the leaves to the paper.
Personal, social and emotional development - Collect leaves with friends and family and take this opportunity to discuss how the children are feeling and continue to explore the textures of the leaves, sound of footprints and how the trees move and how this makes the children feel and what it reminds them of.
Expressive arts and design - Getting creative with using glue and the positioning of the leaves as well as incorporating nature with arts and craft.
Understanding the world - Look at seasons and how the trees and leaves change through out the year. Explore the different shapes of the leaves and discover which trees they come from.
Communication and language - Complete this craft as a group and ignite interesting conversations regarding past experiences, observations and things that the children have learnt.
I hope you enjoy completing this leaf hedgehog craft and that the EYFS links will support your planning!
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