Leaf Messages
Did you know that you can write on some leaves? Making leaf messages is a such a fun idea for kids. Use the leaves to practice writing or reading skills. Put leaf messages on edible leaves for a neat salad idea.
Leaf Messages
My mother-in-law gets credit for discovering this idea. She was writing on a plastic bag containing nasturtium. She noticed the leaves inside the bag had the writing on them as well. Aiden and I headed outside to collect some leaves and try it for ourselves. The random leaves we collected didn’t work as well as the nasturtium. If you find leaves that work, please let me know. I would love to make a list of leaves.
The Leaves
Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus) is a plant whose flowers and leaves are edible. People like to add the plant to salads for a bit of spiciness.
Here is a close up of the leaves.
I chose the biggest leaves I could find to use for our writings.
Writing on the Leaves
To write on the leaves, we used a plastic storage bag and a marker.
Simply place the leaves inside the bag and write on top of them. Watch the video to see what I mean.
I wrote my son’s name on one leaf.
Sometimes the leaves don’t cooperate. I think the stem gets in the way. You need to made sure you are pressing down on the leaf the entire time you are writing. The leaf below was supposed to say “happy.”
In addition to words, I thought it would be a fun idea to practice letters or spelling with the leaves. Just write one letter on each leaf.
The learning possibilities for these leaves are endless. Let your child try his hand at writing on top of the leaves. You could also write numbers and play some math games.
How would you play with the leaves?
More Nature Activities
Subscribe to the Inspiration Laboratories weekly newsletter! Each issue has exclusive hands-on science explorations for children, a recap of our latest activities, and special resources selected just for you!
Leave a Reply