Bloomin'Good Art Activities!!!

My very favorite time of the year is springtime. It is the perfect time of year to make your classroom "bloom" with beautiful flowers and plants! This unit is also wonderful when used in conjunction with the insect unit. I hope you enjoy these activities as much as I do!!!

Bloomin' Beauties

You will need the following materials:

coffee filters- one for each child watercolors or food coloring green construction paper stems and leaves rubber band (optional)

1. To make a flower, paint a coffee filter with different colors of diluted food coloring or watercolors.
2. Allow the filter to dry.
3. Pinch the middle of the filter and wrap it with a rubber band. (This gives it a 3-D effect)
4. Attach a green construction paper stem and leaves to the filter.

Variation: Cut the center of the filter and place a picture of each child in the middle. This makes a great bulletin board with the caption "Our Kinder"garden" or "Blooming Into First Graders" (you get the idea!)

A "Hand-some" Posy

You will need the following materials:

tempera paint liquid soap construction paper green construction paper stem and leaves green crayons glue

1. Mix together tempera paint and a few drops of liquid soap.
2. To make a posy, press one hand into the paint, then onto a sheet of construction paper.
3. Glue the stem and leaves to the paper with the handprint at the top.
4. Use a crayon to add grass.

"Hand-some Tulips"

You will need the following materials:

tempera paint liquid soap construction paper

1. Mix hand soap with tempera paint so that it comes off the hands more easily.
2. Hold pointer, middle, and ring finger together on one hand.
3. Place hand in brightly colored paint, press hand onto paper.
4. Dip side of hand into green paint and press onto paper to make a stem. Repeat the process to make the leaves.

Fruit and Vegetable Prints

You will need the following materials:

sectioned fruits: orange, apple (cut to see the star), pear, star fruit, etc. sectioned vegetable: carrot, onion, cucumber, potato, green pepper shallow dishes art paper tempera paint pictures of plants

1. Put a small layer of paint on sectioned fruit or vegetable.
2. Carefully press on art paper.
3. Variation: Make patterns with the fruits or vegetables for a great math activity.

Trees

You will need the following materials:

construction paper (green and white) empty toilet paper rolls glue scissors yarn triangle patterns tape crayons or markers

1. Cut the toilet paper roll in half, lengthwise. (use 1/2 for each child)
2. Have the children color the bark of the tree brown (toilet paper roll)
3. Assist children in taping the ends of the roll to white construction paper. Remember to leave room for the leaves and roots.
4. Have children make green triangles for leaves. Glue leaves onto the white paper.
5. Have children glue varied lengths of yarn under the trunk to represent roots.

Paper Mache' Strawberry

You will need the following materials:

round balloons string newspaper cut into small strips wheat flour paste: 1 1/2 c. boiling water, 2 tsp. wheat flour, 1/2 tsp. salt red and brown tempera paint paintbrush green construction paper

1. Blow up the balloons and tie the ends.
2. Have children "paint" newspaper strips with the wheat flour paste. Cover the balloons with the strips.
3. Repeat this process three times. Let the balloons dry for 2 days.
4. Paint the balloons with red tempera. Let dry.
5. Paint on brown seeds.
6. Make leaves from green construction paper. Cut the paper in the shape of a circle. Cut wedges along the circle's perimeter. Poke a hole in the center of the leaf and push it through the balloon's rubber stem.

Sunflower Sensations

You will need the following materials:

corrugated cardboard paint stirring sticks green and yellow tempera paint paper plate glue sunflower seeds green construction paper leaves

1. Cut a pot shape from the corrugated cardboard. (you may make one large pot for the class or individual pots for each child.
2. Paint the pot(s).
3. Paint the stirring stick green..
4. To make a sunflower, cut a paper plate into the shape of a sunflower; then paint it yellow.
5. When dry, glue sunflower seeds to the center of the flower.
6. Glue the flower to the top of the paint stick.
7. Cut out and glue on construction paper leaves.
8. Insert each child's sunflower stem into the top rim of the container, pushing it firmly between the layers of corrugated paper.

Sunflower

You will need the following materials:

yellow construction paper small paper plate (one for each child) sunflower seeds glue

1. Have children cut several yellow petals and glue on a small paper plate.
2. Glue sunflower seeds to the center of the flower.
3. Plant remaining seeds in garden.

Button Flowers

You will need the following materials:

Buttons Paper for drawing glue construction paper petals fingerpaints markers or crayons

1. Glue a button or buttons onto paper for the flower center/centers.
2. Either draw petals around the button/s or glue construction paper petals around the button/s or dip fingertips into fingerpaints and use fingerprints to make petals.
   Planting a Rainbow

   You will need the following materials:

   book Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert wide tissue paper strips glue stick green craft stick plastic flower planter (rectangular is best) sand picture of a rainbow

   1. Show a picture of a rainbow to your class; then ask students to identify the colors in it.
   2. Explain that rainbow colors can be found in many place-including flower gardens.
   3. Share the story.
   4. Invite each child to make a flower for the rainbow garden.
   5. Run a glue stick along the edge of a wide tissue paper strip.
   6. Bunch that edge together so that the paper resembles a flower.
   7. Glue the flower to a green craft stick "stem" and "plant" the flower in a plastic box filled with moistened sand.
   8. As a nice touch, "plant" the flowers in the pattern of the colors of the rainbow!
   Flower Garden

   You will need the following materials:

   watercolor paint paintbrush white paper playdough (store bought or homemade) popsicle stick(s) scissors glue egg carton newspaper

   1. Cover your workspace with newspaper.
   2. Use scissors to cut out heads of flowers from white paper (Tulip shapes are easiest).
   3. Paint the flowers with watercolor paint. Allow to dry completely.
   4. Glue flowers onto popsicle sticks for stems.
   5. Pour a little glue into each egg carton compartment. Press playdough into glue; then allow to dry completely.
   6. Poke popsicle stick flowers into playdough for a garden.
      OR
      
   7. Place soild in egg carton compartments instead of play dough; then plant seeds. Write the name of the seed on popsicle stick flower.
      Note***Read Linnea in Monet's Garden by Christina Bjork as an introduction to your "flower garden".
      
   

   Special Note: For any of the art projects you can use dried coffee grounds glued to make realistic looking dirt!!

   Home