May Flowers

Sponge Flowers
Talk about flower parts with your child. Supply your child with different flower shaped sponges, paint and a piece of paper, with lines drawn vertically on the paper. Ask your child to add the flowers with the sponges, as if the lines were stems.

Flower Picture Collage
Obtain a catalog for flowers... or an advertisement. You can either cut out the pictures of the flowers... or have your child cut them out. Tell your child the name of each flower in the pictures. (Optional) Ask your child to sort the pictures according to color. (Optional) Then, ask your child which is their favorite. Have your child glue the pictures on a piece of paper for a flower collage.

Flower Punch Collage
We used a flower punch to make many different colored flowers for the children to glue to different colors of construction paper. We punched wall paper and construction paper.

Carnation
Obtain a white carnation, (celery works too), and put it in a vase with water and blue food coloring (about 10 drops in 1/4 cup water should do). Wait a day or two, and see what happens.

Parts of a flower
Show your child a flower. Ask him/her about the flower. Ask him/her if they know where the stem is, or the pedals. Explain that there are roots too. You could even go outside and show your child the roots of a weed, when you pull it out of your garden.

Plant a garden
Let your child help you plant your flowers in the spring. Or let your child plant a seed for indoors. Make sure the plant receives the proper care so it will grow.

Popsicle flowers
Have your child draw pedal and leaves for a flower. They may color them or glitter them if they would like, and then cut them out. Have your child glue the flower parts onto a Popsicle stick. For younger children, have the child color the pedals and leaves that you have drawn.

Counting flower petals
Draw four or five flowers with different numbers of petals, and different colors. Make a match for each one. Now you can play two games with these. First you can have your child count the petals on each flower. And the second game, you could have your child find each flowers match.

Growing Flowers
Have your child pretend that they are a seed. Turn the lights off. Ask your child to "grow" just a little when it rains. You can either make rain noises, or use a tape recording of the rain. After your child grows a little, turn the lights on, tell your child that they have just grown above the ground a little and they can see the sun (light). Tell then to grow a little faster, until they can grow no more.

A flower song Written by Chicky
Sung to "The more we get together"
If I could be a flower
A flower, a flower
If I could be a flower, What kind would I be?
A daisy, a pansy, a tulip, a lilac,
If I could be a flower, I would be a (child fills in the blank)

Flowers, Flowers written by Chicky
Sung to "Frere Jaques"
Flowers, flowers
flowers, flowers
Everywhere
Here and there
We smell the pretty flowers
We pick the pretty flowers
See them here
See them there

Plant a seed written by Chicky
(sung to London Bridges)
Plant a seed and water it
Water it, Water it
Plant a seed and water it
Then we'll watch it grow
Make sure that it's in the sun
In the sun, In the sun
Make sure that it's in the sun
Then we'll watch it grow

Flower Jars
Have your child place a small amount of clay into the lid of a baby food jars. Provide your child with small dried flowers to stick into the clay. Have your child screw on the bottle, and tie on a bow to the lid. This is a great Mother's Day gift.

Flower Scent
Go to a floral shop or a greenhouse... have your child smell the different kinds of flowers.

Gardener play
Supply your child with plastic gardening tools, hats, gloves, seeds, flower pots, flower packets and watering cans to pretend to be a gardener.

A florist
Supply your child with plastic flowers, or real ones, and a plastic vase. Have your child pretend to be a florist and have them arrange the flowers. You can pretend to go the the flower shop and buy the flowers. Or they can pretend to deliver them to you.

Neighborhood Flower Walk
Next time you go for a walk pay special attention to the flowers you see. Name the ones you can for your child. In my area we have a nature park... check to see if you have a nature park near your city.

Seed Sort
Use 3 to 5 different kinds of seeds. Mix 3 to 5 of each kind of seed together. Have your child sort the seeds according to type. Ask your child which is the biggest, and which is the smallest.

Lilacs
Show your child what lilacs look like. This is how to make your own lilac art. First precut 2 inch squares of purple or white tissue paper. Show your child how to twist the tissue around a pencil to create a lilac blossom. Next put a little glue on the end of a Popsicle stick and show your child how to glue the tissue onto the stick. Repeat until the upper half of the stick is full of blossoms. To display, you can put them in a small vase.

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary
Mary, Mary, quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells
and cockleshells
And pretty maids all in a row.

Spool Printed Flowers
Have at least three spools for each child. Put a small amount of green tempera paint in a small shallow container. (A metal juice lid works well)Put a small amount of two other colors in two more containers. (I suggest yellow and red) Each color should have a separate spool. First have your child dip a spool in the yellow paint, then press it gently onto a piece of paper. Next have your child dip a different spool into the red paint, and have them press the spool onto the paper, 4 times, on the yellow circle at the 11, 1, 5, 7 o'clock marks. Then have your child dip a different spool into the green paint and press the spool onto the paper 2 times at the 3 and 9 o'clock marks.

Dandelion seeds
Have your child paint glue onto a piece of paper... then have the child blow the seeds from a dandelion onto the paper.

Painting with dandelions
Obtain yellow dandelions, and allow the children to use them as paintbrushes.

Dandelion Hunt
Go on a dandelion hunt. See if you can find yellow dandelions, ones that have seeded. Ones which are closed, big, and small.

Which seed is it?
Place many different kinds of seeds on a paper plate. One of each kind. Talk about the seeds with your child. Then tell your child that you are going to describe a seed, and you want them to guess which one it is. Take turns trying to guess which seed the other is describing.

Pussy willow
Make pussy willows with cotton balls and Popsicle sticks.

Spring Flowers
Have your child make spring flowers by using pastel colored cupcake papers for the blossoms. Glue the papers to a piece of pastel paper. Have your child draw on the stems with crayons, and some scenery, (sun, grass, trees, etc.)

Cereal Mosaics
Use colorful dry cereal for this project. First draw the outline of a flower on a piece of paper. Then put glue inside the outline and have your child place the cereal inside the flower.

Flower Bottles
Clean out and empty plastic soda bottle. Place different parts of flowers into the bottle, potpourri works well. Fill about half way with potpourri, then fill about 4/5 with baby oil. this will preserve the flowers. You may add glitter if you choose or a little food coloring. Seal the top of the bottle with a little hot glue, and allow to dry.. and have fun.

Petal Count
Glue five circles to the top of five Popsicle sticks. Number the circles 1 through 5. Cut out many different colored petal shapes. You may want to laminate them so they last longer. Have the children place the correct number of petals onto each flower.

Petal Match
Glue five different colored circles to the top of five Popsicle sticks. Cut out petals from the same 5 colors. Ask the children to put the colored petals on the same colored flower.

This is the Way
Sing: "This is the Way":
Use these lines:
This is the way we:
Rake our lawn
Weed our garden
Plant the seeds
Pick the flowers
See the bugs
Water our plants
Have the children act out the activity as you sing.

Flower Mask
Cut out the middle of a paper plate. Have the child cut out petals from a variety of different colored construction paper. The child should paint the plate, and add the petals after the paint is dry. Finally glue a Popsicle stick to the bottom of the plate for a handle.

Dirt
Provide the children with dirt in the sand and water table.

Sunflower Seeds
Serve Sunflower seeds for a snack.

Flowered Plate Hat
Use sturdy Styrofoam plates. Cut a circle in the middle big enough for your child to wear as a hat. Provide many different kinds of either dried flowers, or artificial flowers for your child to glue onto his/her hat. Provide ribbons and lace as well.

Flowered Plate Hat Parade
Have the children be in a parade (walk from one room to another) wearing their hats and marching to a favorite song.

Paper Bag Flower Basket
Use scissors to cut off the top half of a paper bag. Cut a strip from the top half for the handle of the bag. Fold over the rim of the bottom. Optional: cut slits into the rim to create a fringe. Attach the handle to the inside of the basket. Have the children decorate with flower stickers or cut out flower shapes from construction paper to glue on the bag.

Tye Dyed Flowers
Add 1/4 cup water to each compartment of a muffin tin. Add food coloring to each compartment. Fold a piece of paper towel in half several times. Dip the corners and edges into the water and let the paper take in the colored water. Repeat until most of the towel is colored. Unfold the towel and allow to dry. After the towel is dry, cut it out in the shape of a flower.

Tye Dyed Flowers
Add 1/4 cup water to each compartment of a muffin tin. Add food coloring to each compartment. Have the children use an eye dropper to drip the food coloring onto a paper towel. Allow to dry. After the towel is dry, cut it out in the shape of a flower.

Spring Mobile
Use scissors to cut out flower shapes from construction paper. Use non-toxic paints to color the shapes a variety of colors. Allow them to dry completely. Use a hole punch to create a hole at the top of each shape. Thread different lengths of yarn through each shape then attach to a wire hanger.