One of the side-effects of being a home-educating mom is I tend to hoard anything that I think we might use in crafts or some kind of learning activity (old boxes, glass jars, left over stickers from half-finished mosaics, toilet rolls – you get the picture). I never used to hoard stuff like this before we started home educating but now anything with a crafting value gets stashed. And if I have a themed / seasoned craft activity that we did not get around to using – it gets packed away for next year in the hope that I remember where I stashed that season craft. Crazy ? Quite possibly. But my cramped cupboards often provide the kids with just the right activity without me having to go and buy something – which in my eyes is a victory and totally justifies my crazy hoarding of all craft supplies (this also applies to books that I spot and think oh that would be great for when we get around to learning about the Ancient Greeks etc – but lets not go down that road now).
This week my crazy craft storing was totally justified. The kids had just read a book – Why Do Leaves Change Color? (Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2)
I love using sand art with the kids as it is a great sensory craft activity and they always enjoy it but it does have a messy factor. My Top Tip when using doing sand art – get the kids to work on big trays – it contains the sand and it allows the kids to pour the excess sand into plastic cups to reuse again.
And if the kids find that not all the sections peel off nicely, don’t be scared of adding some glue to the non-sticky bits. It works.
And all that left over coloured sand ? We keep ours in a one multicoloured mixed sand cup and the kids often add it to their pictures just for fun or use it when we are making collages (ie to goes back into my crazy craft cupboard to get used again at some stage).
ofamily learning together 
I think these leaves are most attractive and a good introduction to the various shapes you get….lovely
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