Spring Time Environment: Construction Paper Flowers

This is a fun thing that I try to do throughout the year.

We like to hang seasonal based decorations from the doorways of the playroom.
It is a simple, if not time-consuming project.
This particular project has more for the Mama than the kids to prepare and do, but it is well worth the time, because it really lends to the kids being aware of the seasons and connects them with nature.

Some how or another I never got the snowflakes up, so we still had dried leaves hanging up, until we finished this project!


Supplies:
Construction paper of various colors
Markers & crayons
Scissors
Glue/Tape
String/Thread
Two thumbtacks per doorway

We started off by talking about, and looking through, pictures of some of our nature finding walks last spring and summer. We talked about which were our favorite colors and where we would go first this year when things started to pop up.

I let Sophia pick most of the colors, but Roscoe wanted to pick one and I let him. He is often overwhelmed by all the discussion and choices, so I try to have age appropriate toys out in a separate area for him to go back and forth between us and his own independent play.

This particular day he was rocking the drums and the glockenspiel. I think he has a good ear. Sometimes he plays and it feel like my eardrums just might be cracking..... but more often he will play a soft and beautiful little tune or melody. He is pretty little to play this way, I think.. but of course I LOVE it!! : )

Anyway, after they picked out the colors I let them color with crayons and markers whatever they wanted on both sides of the paper.




That's it for the munchkins for a little bit. I then made a flower stencil on a piece of cereal box.


{Have I mentioned that I save everything? My husband thinks I am going to have serious issues when I get older... like crazy cat hoarder woman crazy... I think not.. but I do HATE waste... so I try to re-use as many things as I can!}

I traced four flowers onto every paper.
Next I made a circle stencil and made two smallish yellow circles for each flower.

I tried to have Sophia help me glue.. but it became a mess because although it was non-toxic glue... I still didn't want Roscoe eating it... so use your own discretion there! : P

Once you glue the centers onto the flowers, you just have to hang them from your"clothesline"across the doorway.



There you go... instant(sort of) addition to the seasonal environment that your kids helped make. I know my kids LOVE seeing their own stuff up on the walls... or hanging from them! : )


And onto another note about how I can't throw anything away... whenever we make things that get cut out from construction paper, I save all the scraps in a big Ziploc bag. When I have some extra time, I will go through and cut the scraps into various size and shaped confetti. This confetti is perfect for little people to use in various projects...such as filling in shapes for shape recognition), large letters for letter recognition, and so forth. If you are feeling particularly patient it is also great to let the kids practice cutting with scissors, which is good for hand eye coordination and also a stepping stone for learning to write. They can get a whole mess of scrap paper and cut over a shoe box. I find this one a little difficult because Roscoe wants to be able to use the scissors REALLY badly.. but he doesn't quite have the coordination to do it... so to save my sanity I usually do it myself! : )











Well, that's it for now. I am headed into a time where I might not be able to post for a little while, but I hope to come and throw something up as often as I can. So keep checking in! : )