Flower Petal Activity

I hope your mothers day was beautiful! I hope you felt appreciated and loved. I hope you got to sleep in or at least avoid an unsavory job, like a diaper change. My little tribe made sure I was very spoiled. One thing I was spoiled with was flowers. I thought I would sacrifice one of my sweet Gerber’s for a fun activity.

Take-A-Minute-Tuesday: Flower Petal Play Activity

If you also have a bouquet on the table, or some spring flowers out front, Take-A-Minute this Tuesday to set up this easy invitation to create. I love this activity because each one of my children were completely focused on it. I have a one year old, a three year old and an almost seven year old. This simple activity, with very basic supplies, can easily engage many ages. Take a minute and check it out.

Supplies

• Paper
• Glue
• Flower Petals
• Paint Brush
• Marker
• Play dough (optional)

Set Up

• Draw a picture for you child to decorate with their petals or cut out a picture or letter
• Put glue into a small container (I mixed with a 1/2 teaspoon of water to make it a little runny)
• Have a child help you, or do it yourself, pluck the petals from a flower or two
• Place all your craft items on a cookie tray, table cloth or on an easy to clean surface
• OPTIONAL For a younger child, or a sensory loving child, put some play dough on a cookie tray with the flower petals near by

Activity Time

For my oldest child I sketched a large flower on a piece of construction paper. I handed her some glue, a paint brush and the petals and that was that. She quickly formed a plan that involved patterns and numbers and colors.

I LOVE watching a child take an open ended craft and turn it into something that involves math and problem solving and color recognition. That is the blessing of Child Lead Learning. After my big girl finished her picture she turned it into a thank you card for one of her favorite teachers. If your child doesn’t naturally come up with a plan for their art work you could ask a question, “What are you going to do with that beautiful picture? Is there anyone you could give it to?”

For my 3 year old I cut out the letter F for Flower and gave her some glue and petals. She spent the first five minutes experimenting with what was the best way to get the flower to stick to the paper. There was a lot of trial and error with the glue.

Middle Miss has the best concentration face and she was wearing it for ten minutes straight. So wonderful. After she had covered the F she insisted she needed to practice her cutting skills. I offered her the extra paper and flower stems and she stayed busy another 10 minutes snipping away.

Offering her paper and stems was a simple way to keep her engaged. Pay attention to what they are interested in and try to help them further that interest by offering them new material or asking a question.

The babe, who is a year and a half, was totally fascinated with her flower petal activity. She spent the better part of 20 minutes sticking different petals into her dough one by one. She was fascinated with how they would stay in the dough. I know this activity won’t capture every one year olds heart but it really did get my baby working on her small motor skills. If she hadn’t been as fascinated I would have rolled the dough into little balls and showed her how to pick up a petal and smoosh them into individual balls. The great thin about this activity is the play dough is usable long after the activity.

I love how an open ended activity can be twisted to fit the needs and interests of 3 different ages of children. When there is no certain way an activity is supposed to look then EVERYONE can participate.

If you enjoyed this simple flower craft check out this great small motor idea for spring craftiness HERE. Let us know if you have any activities that keep many different ages interested please share them on instagram and TAG @adventuresofourplayfulhome!