Autumn wreath
A cardboard ring covered in leaves, paper or gathered on a walk, with an animal silhouette in the middle.
Age : age 4+; the grown-up cuts out the ring
Materials
- Recycled cardboard (cereal box) or a paper plate
- Two bowls of different sizes : To draw the two circles.
- Coloured paper (orange, red, yellow, brown) : Or real leaves, dry and flat.
- Liquid glue and scissors : A leaf-shaped paper punch, if you have one.
- White paper and black marker : For the silhouette in the middle.
- String : To hang it.
Steps
Make the wreath
- Draw a big circle round the big bowl, then a small one in the centre with the small bowl.
- The grown-up cuts out the ring.
- Draw and cut leaves from coloured paper, or go and gather real leaves.
- Glue the leaves all around the ring, overlapping them, until no cardboard shows.
- Draw a woodland animal (fox, hedgehog, squirrel), colour it black and cut it out.
- Glue it in the middle, joining it to the ring with a paw or the tail.
- Tie string at the top to hang it.
Go for a walk first: collect differently shaped leaves and learn their names (oak, maple, chestnut) before gluing them.
If it goes wrong
- Real leaves crumble : Pick them just fallen and dry them 2 days between two books.
- Cardboard warps : Less glue, or a glue stick.
- Silhouette won't stay : Join it to the ring in two places.
Safety
- Pointed scissors and cutting out the centre are for the grown-up with younger children.