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Summertime provides an abundance of “natural” materials that you and your child can use to make fun creations. If the plants and flowers that are mentioned below do not grow in your area, see if you can come up with ways to use local plants and flowers to make your own original creations.
DANDY DANDELIONS
Here are three fun ideas for using dandelions.
This mixture is fun because it seems both wet
and dry at the same time.
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Slit the stems and dip them in water to make “curls”. Then wear them over your ears. |
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Hold a dandelion under a friend’s chin. If you see yellow reflected there, tell your friend that he or she likes butter. |
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Pick a handful of dandelions. Wrap them with a sprig of greenery in a paper doily and tie with colorful ribbon to make a nosegay. |
CLOVER CHAINS
Long-stemmed purple or white clover can be found growing wild in vacant lots and along roadsides. |
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String the flowers together in chains by making a slit in the stem of one flower and pulling the stem of another flower through the slit. |
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Continue the process, seeing how long a chain you can make. |
| PRESSED FLOWERS |
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Pick flowers that are not too thick and lay them on a piece of white paper. |
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Bend the leaves and blossoms into pleasing shapes. |
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Then cover with another piece of paper. |
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Slop the two papers between the pages of a large book and cover the book with a heavy weight. |
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After several weeks, check carefully to see how the flowers are drying. |
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When they are completely dry, you can glue them in a scrapbook or put them in a pretty frame. |
| GERANIUM FINGERNAILS |
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Wet the petals of geraniums and stick them on your fingernails. |
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The petals won’t stay on for very long, but the fun is in the process. |
| SNAPPING SNAPDRAGONS |
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Hold the sides of a snapdragon flower between your thumb and forefinger. |
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Then pinch the flower to make the “dragon’s” jaws snap open and closed. |
| DAISY BUNNIES |
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Pull off the petals of a daisy until just two are left, one next to the other. |
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The center of the daisy makes the bunny’s face, while the two petals make his long, white ears. |
| LEAF CROWS |
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Pick a number of fresh leaves and remove the stems. |
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Place one leaf on top of another so that it is overlapping. |
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Make two slits about half an inch apart through the top and bottom leaves. |
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Then fasten them together by slipping a stem in one slit and out the other. |
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Continue until you have enough leaves to make a crown. |
| GRASS DOLLS |
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Pick or cut a handful of long, strong grass. |
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Fold the bundle of grass in half, then tie with yarn near the top to make a head. |
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If your grass is long enough, tie more yarn around the middle to make a waist. |
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Divide the bottom grass in two sections and tie yarn around the bottom of each to form legs. |
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Stick a twig through the body to make arms. |
| HOLLYHOCK DOLLS |
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Turn the flower of a hollyhock upside down to make a skirt. |
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Use a toothpick to fasten one bud on top of the skirt to make a body and another bud on top of the body to make a head. |
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Slip a second toothpick through the body to make arms. |
| A TENT OF GREEN |
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Fasten eight 6’ stakes together at the top with twine or wire and set in spaded ground in a tent shape. |
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Then plant beans, morning glory or other fast-growing vine seeds at the base of the stakes. |
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It won’t be long before you will have a shady tent of green to sit in on hot summer days. |
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