Falling for Art       Two students with their Leaf Art. A fox, left, and a peacock, right.

Nothing says “fall” like kids and a pile of leaves! At Nine Mile Falls Elementary, it also means “art.” For the past three years first through third graders at the school have joined together on the Friday before Halloween for a special art project. Leaf Art has the students create realistic animal pictures from the leaves they gather in their yards.
For two weeks prior to the event, students gathered all the shapes, sizes, and colors of leaves that they could find. These were then sorted, pressed, and dried. Using a book that the teachers had found in the library, students chose from a variety of animals patterns to follow~everything from an elephant, to a cougar, to a frog.

On the afternoon of the project, piles of beautiful fall leaves covered the tables in the cafeteria. From these piles, students carefully selected the perfect leaves for their picture. One Second grader chose to create a fox. “I like the animal (fox), and I like the color red,” she explained. “I like working with leaves, and I like doing art. I think I did a good job.” Another second grader created a peacock, with a tail full of different colors and textures. “I wanted to do a challenge. I’m pretty good at art,” he admitted.

While students could select the same animal to create with the leaves, each picture was unique and special. “They take a real ownership in bringing and selecting their leaves,” stated second grade teacher Mrs. Teresa Dunn. “There’s a sense of pride when their picture looks like the animal, but is different from their friends.” While most adults think of the mess kids can make with leaves, Mrs. Hare, Mrs. Dunn, Mrs. Norstadt, and Mrs. Toelken thought of the potential for beauty, expression, and self-confidence.