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Celery Printing and Exploring Patterns in Nature
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Getting Started
This simple activity invites you to explore the patterns in nature with your child. You’ll feel so resourceful getting art, science, and maybe even future food from something you might have thrown away a month ago. If you are stuck without art supplies or don’t have any celery, I have some alternatives at the end that you can try. If you do have celery or other root vegetables, don’t throw away the stump, there’s also a fun growing experiment to do when you’re done. Skip to the end of the post to see how mine is growing. It’s amazing!
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How to do it
- Slice the “stump” off a bunch of celery. Invite your children to examine the cross-section: what do they notice? Does it remind them of anything?
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2. Paint the stump with a paintbrush or dip it into a small puddle of paint. A clean yogurt lid makes a great palette.
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Extending the Experience
Other natural items work great for prints too. Check out this print I made with a English ivy leaf.
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What if you don’t have paint?
Get creative! If you have playdough, you could try making an impression with the celery stump (spraying it lightly with cooking spray might help it release more easily from the dough). Gather small stones or twigs and make a pattern inspired by the plants.
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Look at the Patterns All Around Us
Look around outside for other natural patterns you can find. If you have to stay inside, look for pictures of plants and flowers in books or on the Internet. Talk about how they are similar or different from the celery pattern. How do your celery rose prints compare to a real rose?
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For Older Kids
An older child might enjoy creating their own drawing or painting of the patterns they find. The painting on the left was created by my daughter when she was 11.
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Bonus Science Experiment!
After I finished my art project, I washed off the stump and placed it in a shallow dish with water.