Gather a variety of leaves from a neighborhood or local park. Laminate the leaves to preserve them and make them easier for children to handle. Place the leaves in a box or on a table. Ask the children to go through the leaves and find pairs that are alike. End the lesson by showing pictures of the trees from which the leaves came and talking about Arbor Day.
Give the children brown paper bags and take them outside to collect leaves. Ask them to gather leaves from different types of trees. When they are done collecting, distribute a paper plate to each child. Instruct them to glue the leaves to the inside of the plate to make Arbor Day wreaths to take home. Follow by giving a lesson on the types of trees in your area.
Help children make forest pictures for Arbor Day with green paint, paper and brown markers. Give each child a piece of white paper and a brown marker. Help the children dip one hand in the green paint, palm down, and press it to the white paper. Instruct children to keep their thumb close to their fingers to make their hand print look like a tree. Repeat as many times as the child wants trees in her picture. Use the brown markers to make tree trunks and complete the forest picture.
Gather a variety of leaves from trees and place them in piles on the children's tables. Give them pieces of white paper and crayons. Instruct them to place one leaf at a time under the paper and make a copy of it by holding a crayon sideways and rubbing on top of it. Allow them to get creative with colors, patterns and types of leaves. Follow with an Arbor Day lesson on the importance of trees in our environment.