Try these activities:

LEAF RUBBINGS Lay a leaf on a flat surface so that the rough side of the leaf faces up. Put a piece of paper on top of the leaf and gently rub a colored pencil or crayon over the paper so that the pattern of the leaf's veins and edges shows through. Be careful not to move the leaf or the paper as you rub.

LEAF SHADOWS Place a leaf on a piece of paper. Hold the leaf steady with one hand. With the other hand, use a paintbrush or crayon to make strokes going out from the center of the leaf. Make sure the strokes go off the edge of the leaf and onto the paper. Do this all the way around the leaf so its outline appears on the paper when you lift up the leaf.

PRESSED LEAVES To preserve leaves for pictures or collections, lay the leaves flat between sheets of newspaper. Now put something heavy on top of them, such as a stack of books. After about a week the leaves will be dried and pressed. Take the leaves to a copy shop and have them laminated. Now you can turn them into bookmarks, postcards, decorations, and more.

NATURE T-SHIRTS With an adult's help, you can make a nature-print T-shirt using leaves and bleach. For instructions and a list of materials, go to: family.go.com/Features/family_1999_05/famf/famf79naturetee/famf79naturetee. html

This site also has instructions for making leaf-pattern place mats by coating the rough side of a leaf with a thin layer of paint and pressing it onto paper. family.go.com/Categories/crafts/

(At the bottom of the page, under 'Seasons,' select 'Fall," then click on 'Go for it.'')

LEAF CHAINS All you need are colorful leaves. Snap the stem off a leaf at the base. Use the stem to pin one leaf to another (as shown above) to make crowns, sashes, even vests.

(c) Copyright 1999. The Christian Science Publishing Society