For older kids or a youth crowd, we tried out this project, of using leaves and other items from the garden or forest to make ghostly water colour prints.
After doing a wet wash on the water colour paper, Shanna pressed some leaves onto the sheet, then added more colour around the edges.
After it was completely dry it made an awesome effect in the negative space! (This technique is called negative printing, or reverse printing. *cough, cough* Empty tomb metaphor, anyone?)
But half the fun is collecting the leaves in the first place. Pair this art project with a walk outside to collect interesting leaves for your project.
Types of play/skills: outdoor, creative, organizing, fine motor (painting)