Lesson Description:
Students will collect interesting plants they find in their garden. Once collected the plants will be dried, pressed and made into bookmarks.

Eco-fact: Photosynthesis is the process that allows plants to take energy from the sun and create sugars.

Procedures:

Collecting plants

• Walk around outside with your group and observe the different types of plants found there.
• Have each kid find the most unordinary, extraordinary, not your average plant and cut a four to six inch piece with scissors or gardening sheers. Include a few leaves, but be careful not to cut a small, young plant. Children should not cut from the same plant – over-pruning can cause damage while just a snip won’t be noticed. They should cut from the outside of the bush or plant (the inside tends to be new shoots).
• Bring your plant findings inside.
• Place a piece of cardboard on the table, with two pieces of newspaper or tissue paper on top of it.
• Then lay a plant clipping on top of the newspaper.
• Cover the plant with two more pieces of newspaper or tissue paper and another piece of cardboard.
• Lay down two more sheets of newspaper and repeat the same process until all the plants have been placed in a stack. You can top off your stack with a brick or stone if desired.
• Set the stack in a cool, dry spot and place several heavy books on top. Let the plants remain in the stack for 24 hours or more, until they have completely dried.

Making a Pressed Plant Bookmark

• Each child will cut out a bookmark shape from the card stock. You can use the typical rectangle shape or get creative. your bookmarks can be in the shape of a huge flower or an oval. it is up to you.
•  Next kids will lay out the dried, pressed plants on the book Mark in a pleasing manner. do not glue them down until sure you like the plant placement. glue the plants in place. Now kids can decorate bookmark with markers, crayons - even glitter.
• Kids will trace a shape a little bit bigger than their bookmark out of the contact paper. Cover book mark with the contact paper. if you have a laminator you can laminate your bookmark.
• Punch a hole in top of the book mark. Cut a piece of ribbon or yarn to hang out of the book. Tie it in the hole.

Adaptations:

• Use dried and pressed flower petals in bookmarks. follow same procedure.

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Lesson Type:

• Project

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Sustainability Topic:

• Gardening

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GEF Program Category:

• Green Thumb Challenge

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Materials Needed:
Materials for pressing plants:

• Newspaper or tissue paper
• Cardboard for plant pressing (recycled from cereal boxes, works great!)
• Several heavy books or phone book
• Scissors or garden pruning shears
• Brick or stone
• Glue

Materials for making bookmarks

• Card stock or construction paper
• Dried pressed flowers or flower petals
• Ribbon or yarn
• Glue
• Contact paper or a laminator
• Paper hole punch

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