Flower week! We completed loads of fun activities this week! Since we've all been a bit under the weather this week, it was a good time to stay in and keep things low-key. Preschoolers could spend a whole month learning about flowers and completing flower activities-- here's a few choices!
If you regularly do preschool using weekly themes, be sure to check out Over 30 COMPLETE Weekly Preschool Theme Units that we've completed as well as my entire list of 52 Weekly Preschool Themes. You may also want to check out of Daily Home Preschool Schedule and this handy FREE Printable Preschool Planning Page.
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Dandelion Flower Craft
Using a fork and yellow paint, make simple dandelions!
Tiny Seed Flower Craft
Lena has always loved to paint a single sheet of paper in a solid color. Any time we paint, we end up with several sheets of paper painted solid (usually red). Painting in the style of Eric Carle was a natural fit for this particular painting preference, so after we read The Tiny Seed we made this beautiful flower craft. Sure enough, she loved it, and it ended up being one of the best pieces of art that she's produced! She's planning to give it to her dad for Father's Day.
Sensory
Sensory bins are such a fun option for little ones. I prepared this box at the beginning of the week, and it has been played with every single day this week. For this one, I used black beans (for dirt), tiny flower pots (made from natural coconut fiber, and very inexpensive-- I found mine in the floral department of our local craft store) and a play set of flowers. I added spoons and scoops, a funnel, and tongs. The girls not only planted flowers, but they used the beans for all other kinds of imaginative play.
Math
I made these little number and flower stem cards to help Maggie practice her counting. She helped pick out some sparkly pompoms at the store this week, and I just had her place one pompom on each stem. Then we counted together. She had to have all the pompoms be the same color, silly girl!
Spatial
Lena made flowers using pattern blocks. I love pattern blocks for the way they help with fine motor, spatial ability, counting, color and shape recognition, and so much more. We used pattern sheets from Moms Have Questions Too, from Jessica, and from PreKinders.
The pattern blocks we use are these, from Learning Resources. I had wanted them for a long time before I finally bought them, but I'm glad that I finally did. The girls use them several times a week, either for 'official' school, or for their imaginative play. They most often become soup, poured into a big pot and stirred around, but they have also been acorns, sprinkles, pizza toppings, and seeds.
Science
Have a flower exploration. Pick a few flowers from your yard (or buy a bunch from the grocery store) then set up a little tray with your flowers, a magnifying glass, scissors, drawing paper and colored pencils. Let your little ones explore the flowers, and point out the different parts.
Fine Motor
I made some quick flower dot pages, then set the girls up with little bowls of flat marbles. Lena used tongs to transfer the marbles to the dots on her page. Maggie just used her fingers. The tongs are great to develop little muscles in hands and fingers. After Maggie finished her page, I helped her to count the number of marbles, working on one-to-one-correspondance (she can rote count very well, but is still getting the hang of actual counting).
After they'd used the plain marbles for a while, I got out our magnet marbles (just hot glue magnets onto the back of marbles!) and our 'play' baking pan and let them do the same activity with marbles. Apparently this was the first time Maggie has gotten to use the magnets, and she loved it! I could see her working to get the magnets in just the right place, feeling how they were attracted to the pan.
Snack
How cute are these tiny little flower sandwiches? I used a set of little cookie cutters and just put them to work on the girls' lunch one day. Cute, easy, and perfect for flower week!
Picture Books
By far, our favorite book this week was Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney. It tells the story of old Miss Rumphius, who lives an adventurous life and then in her old age plants lots of lupine seeds in order to make the world more beautiful. I saw it on a book recommendation list, and ordered it to use. As I thumbed through it I was initially disappointed. I loved the drawings, but the text seemed like it might be too long and not quite captivating enough for the girls. But they have loved it, and it has been the first book that Lena has picked to read together each morning. I love when books surprise me like this! After several readings, I've come to enjoy it as well, and appreciate it for its slower pace and thoughtful text.
Other flower books we enjoyed this week were:
Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes
Miss Maple's Seeds by Eliza Wheeler
The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle
The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf
Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert
TV
Disneynature's Wings of Life is an amazing movie about flowers, pollen, and the little critters that help pollenate all over the world. You may be surprised at how this kind of movie can hold your little one's attention span. My girls sat captivated during the whole thing (it probably helped a little that they were sick!), and mom and dad were able to enjoy it, too! I love opportunities to show my kids images of the real world, rather than cartoons.
Field Trip
Find a public garden to visit! In our town, there are botanical gardens and University gardens. We were planning to visit, but weren't able to this week. Even if there are no public gardens in your town, take a walk around the block or to any public place where there is landscaping and take a look at the flowers. Identify what you can, and show your kids how to find out what the other varieties are.
To see more fun flower ideas, be sure to follow Cutting Tiny Bites on Pinterest, or just check out the flower themed board below.
You May Be Also Interested In:
Tissue Paper Flower
Sorting Parts Of A Flower from Munchkins And Moms
Giant Flower Collage from Crafty Kids At Home
Build A Flower Letter Sounds Sort from This Reading Mama
From Other Great Bloggers:
Planting Flowers Alphabet Activity from Mom Inspired LifeSorting Parts Of A Flower from Munchkins And Moms
Giant Flower Collage from Crafty Kids At Home
Build A Flower Letter Sounds Sort from This Reading Mama
