This activity has a few elements to it that can extend it to an all day activity! From a nature walk, to flower pressing, to pasting and creating. This should keep them busy (and learning) for quite some time.
Off on a nature walk to find and collect items for our picture
To press any flowers you might want to use, lay between 2 sheets of baking paper (or any paper) and weight down with a pile of books. Leave overnight if you can but otherwise just press them flat to use right away.
Set out your materials so they are easily seen and accessed by your child.
Talk about all the materials you've collected. The different colours of leaves, the different texture of the bark etc.
"The bark is curling. It's tricky to paste" "I have to hold it down to make it stay stuck!"
Pasting with different elements provides different challenges and thought processes for children.
Problem solving: "I need a LOT of glue to make it stick"
All done
Some tips:
- We used a piece of cardboard to create our nature scene on as paper would be too flimsy with the heavy materials
- Simplify this activity by letting your child stick their collected nature objects however they want on the page. It doesn't have to be a nature scene. Just trying to get some of the objects to stick to the page will be challenging enough.
- Extend this activity by focusing on all the different elements of the nature objects such as the different textures and colours. Were the dried items easier to stick than the fresh items?
- Remember to talk with your child about what they are doing. This will help them understand the physical and mental processes they are going through as well as giving them the vocabulary to describe it.
- This activity can be repeated time and time again with a different end result each time. Mix around and change some of the materials each time to inspire new ideas
Debs :)