Engage children in leaf-themed language arts activities. Print the letters of the word in a vertical column along the side of a piece of paper. Have children turn the word into an acrostic poem. Have them think of a word that begins with each letter in the word "leaf" and instruct them to write it down next to the letter. Provide help with writing the words, if necessary. This activity not only teaches children about poetry, but it also reinforces letter-sound recognition.
Use leaves as a manipulative for teaching some basic math concepts to your kindergarten students. Bring in a variety of different sized and colored leaves from outside. Place the leaves on the ground and encourage children to sort them based on their color or size. Use actual leaves or pictures of leaves as manipulatives for teaching children addition. Write an addition problem on a piece of paper and have children count out an amount of leaves that corresponds to each addend and then count them all together to determine the sum.
Create leaf craft projects with your kindergartners. Tape leaves to a tabletop and instruct children to place a piece of thin paper on top of them. Provide kids with crayons and have them rub the crayons on the paper, over the leaves to create leaf rubbings. Trace children's forearms and hands to create the trunk and branches of a tree. Offer kids fall-colored crepe paper and encourage them to tear it, roll it into balls and glue it onto the "branches" to create fall tree pictures.
Set out leaves from different types of trees. Provide children with magnifying glasses and encourage them to examine the leaves. Have them draw pictures that illustrate what they see when closely examining the leaves with their magnifying glasses. Use books to examine the life cycle of leaves. Discuss the process leaves go through throughout the seasons and the reasons why they change colors. Titles to consider using include "Why Do Leaves Change Color?" by Betsy Maestro and "Fall Leaves Fall!" by Zoe Hall.
Take a break from academics with leaf-themed games. Hide a leaf in the classroom and encourage children to search for it, but not to take it. After finding the leaf, children must sit down. The first person to sit down takes the leaf and hides it for the next game. Take children outside and split them up into groups. See which group can gather leaves into the largest pile in an allotted period of time. Allow children to jump in the piles they create.