Perfect for Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and Key Stage 1 (KS1), this leaf art activity blends outdoor learning with arts and crafts, focusing on leaf identification and imaginative play through the creation of a beautiful leaf owl.

Preparation
Print the Leaf Owl worksheet A4 or A3 (which features a simple outline of an owl with empty spaces for ‘body’, ‘wings’, and ‘eyes’).

Gather glue sticks and provide each child with a clipboard to make working outdoors much easier.

Extra tip: Consider reading a book about owls or woodland creatures before starting the activity to inspire their creations.

The Hunt
Take your class to a designated outdoor learning space—a playground, school garden, woodland area, or park.

Explain that they are going on a hunt for the body parts of their leaf owl!

Find the Parts:
Children need to find different leaves and natural materials (small twigs, petals, tiny stones) that can represent the various parts of their leaf owl on the worksheet:

Body: A larger, broad leaf or several overlapping leaves to cover the main body outline.

Wings: Two distinct leaves, maybe with an interesting shape or colour, placed on either side.

Eyes: Two small, round items like tiny stones, petals, or small round leaves.

Beak: A small, triangular leaf or tiny piece of twig.

Talons/Feet: Small twigs or narrow leaves at the bottom.

Create & Glue
Once they have collected their materials, return to a suitable outdoor spot (or back to the classroom).

Using their clipboards for a stable surface, children glue their found natural items onto the worksheet to create their own unique leaf owl.

Encourage them to experiment with different textures and colours to give their owl character and make the ‘feathers’ look realistic.

Share & Celebrate
Conclude the lesson with a sharing session. Children can introduce their leaf owl, describe the materials they used (identifying the leaf types, if possible), and perhaps give their owl a name.