Leaf Shape Scavenger Hunt for Kids + Free Printable

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Take your next nature walk and turn it into a leaf shape scavenger hunt!

Leaves come in an amazing variety of shapes, sizes, colors, and textures. This simple nature activity encourages kids to slow down, look closely, and notice some of those differences.

Grab the free printable leaf scavenger hunt, a clipboard, and a bag or basket, then head outside to see how many different leaf shapes you can find.

We originally did this activity during the summer, but it’s just as much fun in the fall when the leaves begin changing colors and dropping from the trees. Try it in both seasons and compare what you find!

Free Printable Leaf Shape Scavenger Hunt

The printable leaf hunt has a small grid of different leaf shapes for kids to find outdoors.

Think of it a little like nature bingo!

As kids find leaves that resemble the shapes on the page, they can:

• Color in the matching picture
• Mark it with a bingo dauber
• Draw an X over it
• Check it off
• Collect a sample leaf to examine later

Attach the printable to a clipboard to make it easier to use while you’re walking.

You don’t have to find an exact match for every picture. The goal is to get kids looking carefully at leaves and noticing how they’re alike and different.

Look Closely at Different Leaf Shapes

There are far more leaf shapes in nature than the few shown on this printable. This scavenger hunt is meant to be a simple introduction for young nature explorers.

As you search, encourage kids to look beyond the overall size of the leaf.

Notice:

Shape: Is the leaf round, oval, long, heart-shaped, or divided into lobes?

Edges: Are the edges smooth, toothed, wavy, or deeply cut?

Tip: Is it pointed or rounded?

Veins: What patterns can you see running through the leaf?

Texture: Is the leaf smooth, fuzzy, thick, thin, waxy, or rough?

Color: Is it one solid color, or can you see several colors?

Kids don’t need to know all of the botanical vocabulary yet. Simply learning to observe and describe what they see is an important nature-study skill.

Go on a Fall Leaf Scavenger Hunt

Autumn adds another layer to this activity because kids can hunt for both leaf shapes and leaf colors.

See if you can find:

• A red leaf
• An orange leaf
• A yellow leaf
• A green leaf
• A brown leaf
• A leaf with more than one color

Then compare the leaves.

Are leaves of the same shape always the same color? Can you find several colors on the same tree? Which leaves have already fallen, and which are still attached?

You could even repeat the scavenger hunt several weeks apart and watch how your local trees change throughout the season.

 

Turn Your Leaf Hunt Into a Nature Study

Once you’ve collected some leaves, bring them home or back to the classroom for more exploring.

Sort Your Leaves

There are so many ways kids can classify their collection.

Try sorting leaves by:

• Shape
• Size
• Color
• Texture
• Smooth or toothed edges

You can also arrange them from smallest to largest or sort them into groups based on similarities.

Make Leaf Rubbings

Place a leaf beneath a sheet of paper and rub over it with the side of a crayon.

This is a beautiful way to reveal the leaf’s veins and shape.

Try rubbing several different leaves and compare their patterns.

Identify Your Leaves

For older children, take the activity one step further and try identifying which trees or plants your leaves came from.

Use a field guide or plant identification resource to investigate your finds.

Encourage kids to look at more than one characteristic when identifying a plant. Leaf shape is a helpful clue, but the edges, arrangement, veins, bark, flowers, fruit, and other features can also help.

Make Art With Your Leaves

Use your collection to create leaf pictures and collages.

The book Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert is wonderful inspiration for turning real leaves into animals, people, and imaginative pictures.

Compare Summer and Fall Leaves

Here’s an easy way to turn this into a longer nature study: do the same scavenger hunt twice.

Take the printable outside during the summer and then repeat it in autumn.

Compare:

• Which leaf shapes you found
• Which plants still have leaves
• How the colors have changed
• How the leaves feel
• How many leaves are on the ground
• What has changed—and what has stayed the same

Kids can photograph their finds or keep notes in a nature journal to document the seasonal changes.

Download the Free Leaf Shape Scavenger Hunt

Ready to go exploring?

Print the free Leaf Shape Scavenger Hunt, grab a clipboard or basket, and head outside!

DOWNLOAD THE FREE LEAF SHAPE SCAVENGER HUNT

Use it in your backyard, on a hike, at a park, around your school grounds, or anywhere you can find a variety of trees and plants.

 

Tree and Leaf Books for Kids

Pair your scavenger hunt with a book about trees and leaves for an easy nature-study lesson.

A few favorites include:

The Tree Book for Kids and Their Grownups
We’re Going on a Nature Hunt by Steve Metzger -Also a Leaf Hunt Version!
Peterson First Field Guides: Trees
A Tree is Nice by Janice May Udry
The Busy Tree by Jennifer Ward
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
Linnea’s Almanac by Cristina Bjork
Colorful Leaves by Maria Fleming
Trees, Leaves and Bark by Diane Burns
Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert is a classic favorite about leaves!

Want More Fun Leaf Activities? Check these posts out, too!

Leaf Chromatography
How to Make Leaf Crowns – A Simple Autumn Nature Craft for Kids
Leaf Transpiration
Tree Nature Study
Leaf Matching Game
How to Identify Plants on a Nature Walk