Occupational Therapy

Contact Paper Leaf Collection

Colleen Beck OTR/L

Colleen Beck, OTR/L is a pediatric occupational therapist and the owner and author of The OT Toolbox website. She manages all of The OT Toolbox social media accounts and runs the popular newsletter. Colleen created The OT Toolbox in 2011 and since then has written thousands of blog posts designed to support therapy providers, educators, parents, counselors, admin, and caregivers in promoting the healthy development of kids. Check out Colleen's blog posts below:

by Colleen Beck OTR/L
September 5, 2024

Did you ever go on a nature walk and collect colorful leaves but have no where to put them? This contact paper leaf collection is a Fall leaf collage and all you need is a sheet of contact paper. This is a fun way to expand on a family nature walk during the Fall months! Add this to your outdoor occupational therapy sessions or Fall OT planning.

Here’s why you should make a leaf collection with kids this Fall…

Contact Paper leaf Collection

My kids wanted to go for a Nature Hike one beautiful, sunny, fall day. I pulled out some squares of contact paper and we went around the yard, gathering leaves, acorn tops, flowers, grasses, pine needles…all kinds of fun, fall things.

When you are collecting items to add to your contact paper leaf collection, you’ll want a variety of leaf shapes, sizes, and colors.

There are other things you can add to the contact paper, too:

Acorn tops
Grass
Seeds
Pine needles
Maple seeds (“helicopters”)
Thin tree bark
Small twigs
Flower petals
Seed pods
Feathers
Pinecone scales
Dandelion fluff
Moss
Fern fronds

Looking for all of those items really works on the visual scanning skills and the fine motor dexterity!

Big Sister is learning about the senses in her Pre-K Science class. We talked about the 5 senses a little bit, but mostly just enjoyed the warm sun and crunchy leaves.

Big Sister came up with the idea to use this as their “map”. I thought this was a pretty cool idea, and it coming all from her is so exciting. I love the imagination at this age!

Big Sister and Little Guy are really into Jake and the Neverland Pirates right now. Everything is a pirate adventure with pixie dust and gold doubloons!

We went off on our adventure around the yard to visit Acorn Island, Leaf Land, Flower Isle, and Pine Needle Island.

Such a fun day!

Looking for more ideas to play this time of year? Grab our Fall OT kit:

fall fine motor kit — Fall Fine Motor Kit

Colleen Beck, OTR/L has been an occupational therapist since 2000, working in school-based, hand therapy, outpatient peds, EI, and SNF. Colleen created The OT Toolbox to inspire therapists, teachers, and parents with easy and fun tools to help children thrive. Read her story about going from an OT making $3/hour (after paying for kids’ childcare) to a full-time OT resource creator for millions of readers. Want to collaborate? Send an email to contact@theottoolbox.com.