This week in our second grade learning activities, we’re sharing this Fall Fine Motor Leaf craft that is perfect for second graders. We love fine motor crafts and activities and this creative fall art was no exception. Kids of all ages will love crafting up these Fall leaves (my three year old and 8 year old both had a blast!) It’s great because these leaves can get creative and as unique as the crafty kids like!
Fall Fine Motor Leaves Craft
(This post contains affiliate links.)You’ll need just a few materials for this easy Fall craft:
We started by making a leaf shape on paper. Fold a small square of paper in half and show your child how to draw half of a leaf. Now is a good time to discuss symmetry and that leaves are symmetrical. Second graders can discuss and learn about mirror symmetry by creating leaves on the halved paper.
Next, trace the leaf shapes onto the Plastic Canvas. Tracing with a marker onto the bumpy textured surface of the canvas is great fine motor work as the child holds the paper in place with their assisting hand and maintains control of the marker while tracing. You’ll want the child to manage the paper in place with bilateral coordination as they use both hands together in a coordinated manner.
After tracing the leaf shape onto the canvas, have your child cut out the shape with scissors. What a great scissor activity for older students like second graders! The holes of the canvas really provides feedback to the child as they cut the curved lines of their leaves.
After cutting out the leaves, start lacing! Discuss the colors of the plastic cording and identify warm colors (red, yellow, orange) that might be seen on Fall leaves. Explore the look of cool colors too (blue, green, purple) through discussion. Show the child how to thread the plastic cording though the holes of the canvas. Show the students a running stitch and use terms “pull, over, and under”. Try a whipstitch where the cording goes down through the plastic canvas and around the edge with parallel stitches over the edge of the shape. These are all great terms to introduce to kids as a pre-sewing skill.
Allow the child to create as they like on their leaves. Some of our leaves had long stitches that resembled the veins of the leaves (More symmetry!) and others were very creative with their colors and zig zagging lines.
This Fall craft is sure to get the creativity and fine motor skills going!
More skill areas covered in this activity:
Science: Discuss leaf types, tree names, and shapes.
Math: Count out squares and patterns with the stitches.
Crafting: Create a decorative garland with the leaves by hanging all of the leaves together.
Creative Expression: Each leaf can be as unique as your child and the leaves of the trees this Fall.
Functional Skills/Homemaking: Practice types of stitches on the plastic canvas.
Sewing: Encourage more homemaking skills by introducing a plastic needle and thread.
Fine Motor: Many fine motor skills are addressed in this activity-tripod grasp, bilateral hand coordination, scissor skills,
Looking for more second grade activities with a Leaf Theme? See what the other Second Grade bloggers team have come up with:
Today we’re sharing a favorite recipe in our house. This Asian Chicken is easy to throw together and always a hit with the kids. This week in our Cooking With Kids A-Z series, we’re sharing P for Peppers. This chicken dish is full of red and green peppers and perfect for filling your family with vegetables! Cooking with kids is such a fun learning experience and this recipe is no exception. Chopping, stirring, dicing, and cooking makes this family dinner recipe a great way to learn with your dinner.
Asian Chicken Recipe for Family Dinner
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To make Asian Chicken, you’ll need the following ingredients: 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil 1/4 cup Soy Sauce 1 Tablespoon chopped garlic 2 Tablespoons honey 1 pound chicken breast, diced 1 large green pepper 1 large red pepper 2 large carrots, peeled and diced 2-3 Mandarin oranges, peeled and separated Edamame, steamed Rice, enough to feed your family (We make servings for 6).
There are a lot of steps in this recipe, but they are not complicated, and only provide a complex direction following task set for your kids as they cook alongside you. You can break down the steps of this recipe into one-two step parts to reduce the complexity for younger children.
To begin, warm the olive oil in a saute pan. Add the chopped garlic and brown slightly by stirring. Add the chicken and cook on all sides. Meanwhile, cut the peppers. To make chopping red and green peppers easier for smaller kids, you can first slice the peppers into strips, Julienne style. Kids can then easily chop the peppers using a Safety knife. Have them chop the red and green peppers into large pieces.
Cook the edamame. To cook, bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the edamame and cook for a few minutes. Drain the beans and cool them by rinsing. Shell the beans by squeezing the pods. Kids love to pop open edamame shells and separate the beans. Set aside.
Peel and separate the Mandarin oranges. Set aside.
Once the chicken has browned, add the soy sauce and honey. Stir to coat the chicken and add the red and green peppers, and edamame. Cook covered for 10 minutes, stirring often. Remove the lid and add the mandarin oranges. Cook and stir for 2-3 minutes more.
Remove from heat and serve over rice.
Pepper Recipes for Kids:
Looking for more recipes using peppers? See what the Cooking With Kids A-Z team has come up with this week using peppers: