Fine Motor Leaf Garland Craft for Kids to Make

We are almost at the end of our first set of activities for Storybook Advent this year all inspired by Bear Stays Up for Christmas by Karma Wilson. This time we have a fun art project that you can develop into a craft and is perfect for doing with multiple age groups. So here it is – how to create a Fine Motor Leaf Garland Craft for Kids to Make inspired by Bear Stays Up for Christmas.

Bear Stays Up for Christmas Storybook Advent Featured Book

We have included links to the materials we used and the featured book. If you purchase via the links we may earn a small commission.

Bear Stays up for Christmas by Karma Wilson is one of our favorite Christmas books. It is such a sweet story in which the forest animals help their friend Bear stay awake so he can enjoy Christmas morning.  I love how the animals celebrate in a simple way; they string leaves and popcorn to decorate while sipping mint tea. The emphasis is on spending time together. (Although bear still finds time to make simple gifts for his friends.)

Woodland Leaf Garland Inspired by Bear Stays Up for Christmas

This cozy story filled with woodland animals celebrating a rustic Christmas inspired me to create a craft activity for kids. My 7-year-old daughter and my 18-month-old niece and I worked together to make this rustic leaf garland.

As a teacher, I love any bonus benefits that come from an art project. This craft is great for working on fine motor skills and color identification.

This craft project is very simple. It required very little prep because I already had all the supplies on hand.

Materials for this Simple Fine Motor Craft to produce a Woodland Leaf Garland.

• the printable leaf template – Please scroll down to the bottom to get your FREE copy.
• white cardstock paper
• crayola washable fingerpaint (we used fall colors to try to match those in the book)
• cotton swabs – one for each color (or use paint brushes or even just fingers)
• paint cups-one for each color (clean yogurt cups would work)
• bakers twine
• scissors
• hole punch

How to make your Bears Stays Up for Christmas Leaf Garland.

This craft does not involve very many steps. Older children can help with steps 4-6

1. Gather your materials. You have some options when it comes to the painting. You can print multiple copies of the leaf printable on white cardstock and paint those. Or you can freehand draw your own leaves on a thick white paper of your choice and paint that. Or you could print the leaf template on regular printer paper, cut them out and trace them onto a type of craft paper that’s meant for paint.
2. Paint the leaves. Children can choose to paint each leaf one color, or they can give them more of a blended look using multiple colors similar to the leaves in the book.
3. Once the leaves are painted, allow them to dry. This could take anywhere from an hour to several hours depending on the paper and amount of paint that was used.
4. Cut out the leaves.
5. Use the hole punch to make a hole in the end of each leaf.
6. Assemble the leaf garland by cutting a long piece of bakers twine (or similar) and threading each leaf onto the twine 4-6 inches apart. Make a knot on each leaf so it stays in place on the twine. For reference: I used about 6 feet of twine and 12 painted leaves for our garland.

Adapting this Kids Craft for Multiple Ages

This craft can be altered in many ways.

You can do this craft with kids of a variety of ages.

For little kids, I recommend washable finger paints.  Older kids can use watercolor paints.

If you don’t want such a rustic look, you could use paint colors that match your current Christmas decor.

Whenever I do art projects with the kids in my life, I focus on the process much more than the end product.  We had a lot of fun doing this, and only made a little bit of a mess. And now we have a garland we can string on the mantle or Christmas tree or wherever we want some rustic Christmas decor.

I hope you enjoy the book, and I hope you enjoy crafting with the kiddos in your life.

If you enjoy Christmas picture books and garland crafts, you may be interested in my post, How to Make a Popcorn Garland with Kids. Also, check out How to Make an Advent Picture Book Tree.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

<< Don’t forget to download your Leaf Template to Make this Garland with >>

More Garlands to Make with Kids

Use our salt dough recipe and create a pretty Star Salt Dough Garland with the scent of Christmas.

Make patterns with the kids with a Gingerbread Men and ladies garland inspired by Gingerbread Friends by Jan Brett.

More Bear Stays Up For Christmas Activities

Creative STEAM project for Kids to help the Bear Stay Up for Christmas.

Download and Print our Montessori Inspired 3 Part Cards featuring Woodland Animals and other parts of the book.

Get active with this Bear Stays Up for Christmas Gross Motor Activity for Kids.

Don’t Forget to Pin This Woodland Leaf Garland to Make Later