Making fall leaves in preschool

Before school started this year, I decided to buy a couple of candle warmers. This week, we put those candle warmers to good use in our pre-k class by melting crayons on our paper leaves…

Although the candle warmer is fairly small, it works like a charm! The children absolutely loved how the crayons smoothly glided over the candle warmer…

I purchased the candler warmers from Walmart.  They are supposed to be for wick-less candles but I wanted to try them for art.  The nice thing is that they only heat up to one temperature and are meant for melting wax rather than for cooking.  I still reminded my students not to touch the black part of the warmer.  The children easily understood that the black part of the warmer was hot and they were very careful…

The children loved exploring and color mixing with the melting crayons.  Some children tried coloring with three crayons at a time and others liked to go over the leaves with as many colors as they could…

Some of the children figured out how to take their own leaves off of the candle warmer but most of the time, it was my job to remove the leaves from the candle warmer…

After the leaves come off of the candle warmer, they cool and harden almost immediately. The wax coating almost made the paper feel like a flat crayon and the leaves were almost transparent when held up to the light. We used very thin paper for this process…

We also discovered that if you take the leaf directly from the warmer to a sheet of paper, you can make a quick print on your paper before the leaf gets too cool.  In the photo below, the leaves on top are the paper leaves with melted crayon and the leaves underneath are the leaf prints….

One of my jobs was to also wipe down the candle warmers every once in awhile between uses. The crayon starts to build up a bit on the warmer but it is very simple to wipe off with a dry paper towel while the warmer is still hot…

We did this activity at the very end of our day, so the children put all their leaves into a plastic baggy and took them home. After the children left, My assistant, (Ms. Abby) and I wanted to try this out for ourselves so we stayed a little late and played…

Miss Abby and I made beautiful Fall Trees with our fall leaves.  Perhaps I should go back and let the children make their own fall trees. Perhaps we will try this with real leaves! Oh, I can see so many possibilities here. I love it!

I am linking up with No Time for Flashcards Link and Learn!

AND

Classified: Mom
 

 

 

Deborah J Stewart

Deborah J Stewart

Every time I think I know everything I need to know about teaching young children, God says, "Hold on a minute!" and gives me a new challenge.

Let me tell ya...

With each new challenge that you overcome, you will find yourself better equipped and more passionate about teaching young children.

God didn't call wimps to lead, teach, or care for His children. Nope, he has high expectations, so get ready. You will have to give your very best but after teaching for over 30 years, I can tell you that it is a wonderful and rewarding journey.

Whenever your calling feels hard, just remember, 'He who began a good work in you (and in the children you serve) will be faithful to complete it.'

Subscribe to My Newsletter

Latest Blog Posts

P is for Pizza!

While learning about the letter “P” we decided to explore with pizza! Pizza is an all-time favorite food for many preschoolers, and activities involving pizza

Read More »