Use our free printable kids’ leaf activity kit to make a simple DIY flipbook leaf matching game!
With fall in full swing, we’re exploring new uses for our free printable leaf activity kit this week! we thought we’d try an upcycled leaf learning activity.
So we turned a scrap of cardboard and one page of our leaf activity kit into a fall leaf flipbook matching game – perfect for shape recognition practice and fall fine motor skill building!
In addition to being a fab way to recycle the side of a cardboard box, this graphic visual comprehension-builder is a way for little ones to explore positive and negative space.
For more fall projects for little ones, visit our collection of leaf-themed loose parts play activities. Get more fine motor skill practice with mouse mail, or squeeze in counting and color-learning with this DIY super-soft felt tree and rainbow leaves.
For your own DIY leaf-matching game, you’ll need:
BASIC SUPPLIES:
- 1 sheet of heavy cardstock or watercolor paper
- A piece of cardboard (ours measured 5.5 inches by 8.5 inches)
- Our free printable leaf activity kit
- Scissors
- A hole punch
- A low-temp glue gun or craft glue
OPTIONAL SUPPLIES:
- Watercolors or other coloring supplies
How to Make a Fall Leaf Matching Game – DIY Instructions:
Print our free leaf matching cards or draw your own leaves.
Download our free leaf activity kit, and print the matching cards page. Cut the cards apart, then you can color as we did (and let them dry if necessary) or use them as is.
We used watercolors to create pretty washed leaves in bright fall colors, but you can color yours any way you’d like. Using black in the negative space would be a great variation!
Tip: Don’t have a printer handy? Draw or trace leaves onto watercolor paper and follow the same steps!
Punch holes in the top of each card.
Use a hole punch to make holes at the top of each leaf half card.
Center your holes in the middle of the cards, about a half-inch from the top.
Use a glue gun to affix to 2 thin strips of cardstock to the cardboard.
We used a one-eighths-inch hole punch, so our paper strips were just a little thinner in width than that.
For proper placement, lay a matching set of your hole-punched leaf pages onto the cardboard – centered and lined up next to each other. Make small dots on the cardboard with a pencil, in the middle of each hole punch. Glue one end of each paper strip onto the corresponding pencil marks.
Thread your leaf pages on the thin strips and glue the open ends down
Thread your leaf pages onto the strips. You can thread them so they stack in order or mix up the halved cards. Just make sure all the silhouetted halves are on one side, and the dotted outlines are on the other.
Once all your half pages have been threaded onto the strips, use a glue gun to glue down the open ends to the cardboard. This creates rings that will allow you to flip your cards back and forth repeatedly.
Et voila! A clever little leaf-matching flipbook your kiddos can use at home or at school for some matching halves practice!
This is a great indoor tabletop fall activity that you can pair with a practically zero-prep leaf scavenger hunt (using the same free printable!) for a complimentary outdoor experience.
More Leaf Activities for Kids
Down to try a little leaf art? You can use this same free printable to make For a few leaf-themed art projects, try our autumn magic paper leaf wands and funny face paper leaf puppets.
Love this download? Try our nature explorer printable pack! Filled with pages of outdoor observation and exploration prompts, it’s perfect for hours of self-led nature learning and play.
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