Autumn… it’s my favourite season. As the weeks unfold afternoons often take on a golden hue and sunsets glow with mauve and rose-coloured clouds. Deciduous trees magically transform their green leaves into golds, oranges, reds and rusts, and it’s a perfect time to encourage children to pause, observe and take note of nature’s gifts.

Autumn leaves are so eye-catching. Take a walk with your children to find and collect a stash of leaves and you may be surprised at the creativity inspired by their diverse shapes and rich colours.

Autumn leaves will eventually crumble and fade, so the value of Autumn crafting value lies very much in the process of ‘making’ and not necessarily in the finished product. To me, that ephemeral quality makes them even more special. But remember… the beautiful treasures of Autumn will disappear in a few weeks… so don’t delay.

Head outdoors

Rug up and head out for a walk, keeping a lookout for Autumn trees as you go. Kick through some fallen leaves, or toss them in the air. Most of our older parks were planted with European trees, and many of these are deciduous species. Native trees also have leaves worth celebrating and collecting - fallen gum leaves are already flat and dry, and that makes them perfect to collect for painting and gluing. Some banksias have extraordinary zig-zagged leaves. Look out also for gumnuts, cones and seeds and add them to your collection.

Collect

Take a paper bag in the pram with you to collect any colourful leaves and interesting cones you may find. Bring home your collection, and let children play with them, or sort them into colours, sizes or shapes.

Preserve

Preserve leaves by storing them flat between layers of newspaper under a heavy book. This makes them dry flat and they will be easier to use. Stored this way they last all year.

Create

• Add leaves to your collage box along with interesting scraps of paper.

• Make a leaf rubbing by placing a leaf between sheets of light weight paper and rubbing over the top with crayon or pastel.

• Use paint and make leaf stencils by brushing or rolling paint over the back of the leaf before lifting it to reveal the silhouette of its shape.

• Make a print by painting one side of the leaf and then pressing the wet painted surface onto paper. When peeled away the leaf will leave behind a painted impression, sometimes with interesting details of veins included.

• Make an Autumn crown by fixing leaves onto a strip of flexible cardboard that’s long enough to fit around your child’s head. A cereal box can be a good option for this. Leaves stay on best if taped, and I’ve found that the the very best tape for the job is double-sided tape that children can press leaves onto.

• Make a wreath from a paper plate by decorating and adding leaves.

• Use cones to make impressions and textures into playdough creations.