Okra Art

Every year we plant a small vegetable garden in our backyard.  It is a fun way to teach our children where our food comes from.  There is also an element of teaching responsibility (i.e., remembering to water and weed) and then the joy of harvesting what they've planted.  We usually incorporate okra (a.k.a. lady's fingers) in our garden.  Okra is easy to grow and produces beautiful flowers and foliage.  The problem is we never seem to get enough seed pods at a time to cook with them.  

Photo:  EducatedPreschooler.blogspot.com

Photo:  EducatedPreschooler.blogspot.com

So what to do with those random single seed pods??  When cut in half, they make excellent and interesting stamps.  The shape of their horizontal section is a pentagon with a five or six-pointed star inside.  The star within the pentagon creates teardrop-shaped pockets where the seeds are stored.  

Photo:  EducatedPreschooler.blogspot.com

What you'll need:
*At least one okra seed pod (cut in half; use a toothpick to remove seeds along the cut plane)
*Washable tempura paint 
*Containers for paint (we reused plastic lids)
*Card stock or construction paper

Photo:  EducatedPreschooler.blogspot.com

Instructions:
1) Place the okra halves (cut side down) in the containers of paint
2) Have your child hold the uncut ends like handles and stamp their paper in whatever pattern they like.  
** Note: sometimes the stem of the okra plant may be a prickly.  If this bothers your child, simply wrap the stem with a piece of tape.  

Photo:  EducatedPreschooler.blogspot.com

Photo:  EducatedPreschooler.blogspot.com

Happy crafting!