In I Can Help, Ms. Underwood’s class make a leaf craft to decorate their school. Illustrator Mikela Prevost based this project on an activity she loves to lead with students. In this fun tutorial, Mikela shares how to create your own leafy masterpiece!
- LET’S MAKE LEAF ART!
Your first step is to step outside! Go look around your house or neighborhood and find any leaves that you think are interesting.
- WHAT DO I NEED?
After you have found some fun leaves, get out construction paper or any other thick paper to use as a background. Also grab anything that makes a mark! Crayons, pencils, markers, whatever makes you happy. You’re also going to need some glue—to glue those beautiful leaves down!
- MY LEAVES WON’T LAY DOWN!
This is the part that might take some patience! You’re going to want to get a book or two to stack on top of your leaves so that they can dry out a little bit more and flatten down. (No, just one or two books will work!)
- MY LEAVES LAY DOWN!
Hooray! Now they’ll be a lot easier to work with. After you’ve gotten all your leaves together, pull out the background papers and start laying leaves on top. This is the fun part because nothing is glued down so nothing is permanent. You can make as many changes as you want. What kind of things come to your mind when you’re playing with the leaves? What do they look like? Maybe a bird? Maybe something really simple like a big pear? This is where you get to make your own story happen on one page!
- OH, I LIKE THIS!
If you have your leaves arranged in a way that makes you happy, now it’s time to glue them down! You really don’t need a lot of glue, just a couple dots will do! After this point, you might need to put your paper back under a book while it dries, but—if you are too excited to wait—then it’s time to start drawing!
- WAIT, WHAT DO I DRAW?
Anything that will help add to your story! Did you draw a dancer with a fancy ball going on? Then draw on the leaves to make it even more interesting. Maybe you can add something else to your drawing. I really liked how that one leaf look like a big giant pear, so I added more fruit with it and even drew fruit in that weren’t part of the leaves. You can add as much detail as you want! This is your time to celebrate the beauty of nature!
Written by Reem Faruqi
Illustrated by Mikela Prevost
Ages 4-8
HARDCOVER ISBN: 978-0-8028-5504-6
Price: $ 17.99
44 Pages
Trim Size, in inches: 8.5 x 11
When Ms. Underwood asks if anyone wants to help Kyle, Zahra always volunteers. She loves spending time with Kyle—he’s creative and generous, and he makes the funniest jokes at lunch. But when Zahra’s other classmates start teasing her for helping him, she starts making choices she regrets.
