Autumn leaves are not only beautiful and fun for kids, investigating and playing with them help develop skills in areas such as science, maths, communication, art and even music. Little Miss B and I spent this morning out in the garden collecting, playing, sorting, talking and creating with a pile of leaves we gathered. Here are five fun and educational activities you can do with your kids in the garden with autumn leaves this season.

1. Forage around in piles of leaves and investigate what creatures are living within them.
2. Grab some paper and crayons and take leaf rubbings. Look at the pattern, shape and structure of a leaf and discuss the similarities and differences between different types of leaves.
3. Sort your pile of leaves into different categories. Encourage your child to make their own groupings and ask them why they chose to group them as they did. Little Miss B had ‘little leaves’, ‘pointy leaves’, ‘scrunchy leaves’, fold over leaves’ and ‘green leaves’ based on they way they looked and felt.
4. Find a pile of leaves and stomp in them. Listen to the sounds they make. Experiment with different types of leaves such as wet and dry to see if they make different noises.
5. Finally, when you have finished with your leaves, pop them in the compost bin and discuss what else can be composted.

What do you and your kids like to do with autumn leaves?