Spring Bouquet Materials:
- large egg crates (5-10 cups torn from the large carton per child)
- tempera paint
- tissue paper
- large buttons
- pipe cleaners
The project began by giving each child 5 egg crates cut into individual cups. Older children can cut the cartons up by themselves but for most of my students I tore them myself and we started the class with cups distributed on a tray.
Students were directed to paint the outside and the inside of the cups. They were encouraged to use a lot of paint on the inside as the paint was going to color the cups and later act like glue to hold the tissue in place. It is a good idea to have a wash cloth available for each child to wipe off their painted hands for kids who are sensitive about paint on their hands or for those that are particular about paint transferring from their fingers to their art.
Next, the children were given pre-cut 4×4 pieces of tissue paper. Taking 1-2 pieces of tissue paper at a time each student pushed the center of the paper into the bottom of the cup to create full flowers. Reminders to push the paper all the way to the bottom.
The peace when children are focusing on fine motor activities is refreshing. It was also wonderful to watch each child follow their own vision of color combinations when it came to paint, tissue paper, and button/pipe cleaner stems.
To attach the stem, the first step was to poke a hole in the bottom of the cup with a sharp pencil from the inside of the tissue paper out.
***Please Note: Only children who could follow a demo and safely use the pencil were given the opportunity to try themselves. Younger children were helped by an adult. Adult supervision is needed at this step.***
Once the cups were dry and holes are made, the children selected pipe cleaners and buttons.
They children were shown how to slide the button to the middle of the pipe cleaner and then back thru the other button hole.
After pulling the stem through the center of the flower gather them into a bunch and twist.
What a beautiful gift to share with someone special this spring!
