Pressed for Time

Inspired by 7 Times Smarter by Laurel Schmidt

Supplies Needed: thick book (old phone books work well), kleenex or toilet paper, construction paper or cardboard and glue stick or craft glue

Take *|CHILD_1ST|* on a nature walk in your neighborhood with a grocery bag and pick up leaves and flowers that are appealing. When you get home, open the book toward the back, spread out a kleenex and arrange some of your “specimens” on the tissue so that they’re not touching each other. Try different arrangements—just flower petals, full flowers, twig with several leaves, leaves by themselves, etc. Cover with another kleenex and flip about 1/2” of pages, then repeat the process until all the leaves and flowers you collected have been pressed in the book. Add a few more books or a flat, heavy object on top of the original book and wait 24-48 hours. Remove the tissues, but leave the specimens in the book for a couple of weeks. Spread the options out on the table and use the glue and construction paper to create Nature Art. Let *|CHILD_1ST|*’s imagination run wild with all different scenes to create just by using the leaves and flowers they pressed.

Extra Credit:Make textured mosaics or sculptures out of other natural “specimens”–e.g. shells from the beach, pinecone ovules, seeds, acorns, feathers, etc.

Nurtures Nature Smarts by Leveraging Visual/Spatial Talents