Back to Children's Garden ThemesObjective:
To transfer the likeness of plant parts to fabric
Time:
45 minutes
Materials:
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Before this activity, cut up an old sheet into 10 inch squares, one for each gardener.
There are wonderful patterns and designs in nature. Lines and shapes of flowers and leaves can be captured onto fabric, and they last a long time. Ask the gardeners if they have ever pounded a leaf.
Explain that they may have rubbed leaves or other plant parts to get an impression of the shape and design, but with pounding, they can copy the shape, design, and color of the plant. Take the gardeners out for a walk in the morning. Have them choose leaves, grasses or flowers they have permission to pick and would like to try pounding. Encourage them to be selective and choose only an item or two to try. Because these first selections will be for practice, have the group try a variety of plants to see which ones leave the best likeness of the plants used.
Have each child lay the fabric on a cutting board, flatten a flower or leaf face down on the fabric, and then lay a sheet of plastic wrap over the plant parts. A hammer can then be used to pound over the plant parts until an impression is left. After several strikes, the children can gently peel back the leaf or petal to see if the part needs more pounding or not. Although fresh plant parts work best, your group might also try using flowers from a florist. (Florists often will donate wilted blooms.) The gardeners will discover that some plants leave beautiful impressions that capture color, while other plants don’t seem to do anything!
Once the gardeners are successful in making plant impressions on their practice squares, plan another pounding day when they can each bring a T-shirt and create botanical shirts for themselves or for gifts. Clothing decorated with plant poundings should be hand-washed in cold water with a mild detergent.
