Parts of a Flower Play Dough Mat and Collage

Print the Play Dough Mat to heavy paper for each of your children.  Explain to your children that flowering plants start from a seed.  The seed needs 3 things to grow:  good soil, water, and sunlight.  The seed will sprout when those 3 things are present.  As the flowering plant continues to grow, the plant produces flowers and fruit (seeds).  The cycle then repeats itself.  Write the words for the parts of the flower on a separate sheet of paper or an index card (see photo above).  Younger children can use alphabet stamps to stamp the letters (or just the beginning letter of each word) on the line provided on the mat. Older children can write the words or stamp the letters.

Extend the discussions by laminating the flower papers and using as a play dough mat. The children can follow the flower colors or create one of their very own!  

Extension #2:  Print the following Plant Cards – Plant Cards for Preschool and Kindergarten – on heavy paper to aid in discussions. Have the children use the cards for a “growing” sequencing activity: seeds, sprout, and flower.   The children can use the soil, water, and sunlight cards as visuals to paint or draw what “ingredients” are necessary for a plant to grow.

Extension #3:  Print several copies of the cards, laminate (or cover with clear contact paper), and have the children play a “memory” style matching game on a table or the floor. Place all the cards face down.  Each child should draw two cards, one-at-a-time, to find matching cards.  If the cards do not match, the cards are turned face down again and another child takes a turn.  The game is over when children have lost interest or when all the matching cards have been found.

Parts of a Flower Play Dough Collage Craft

Materials needed:  Brainstorm with your children what materials in the classroom or at home they could use to make the flower.  Gather all of the items into a bin (some suggestions:  pipe cleaners or Wikki Stix for the roots;  any dry bean or black construction paper for the seeds; green construction paper for the stem and leaves;  and pipe cleaners, Wikki Stix, or tissue paper for the flower petals).

Have the children make a large play dough area on a table, placemat, or laminated board. The play dough will act as “glue” so none is needed to hold the collage materials in place. Hang a visual for younger children to look at, if desired.  Younger children will use the collage materials in many creative ways!  Older children, too, will amaze you with their flower creations!

Looking for MORE Spring Activities for Kids? Look for entire themes at: The Preschool Toolbox Blog!