Plant Sunflower Seeds And Make Tissue Paper Sunflower Holders With Your Class
Some of the best private schools incorporate hands-on activities in their curriculum. Plant sunflower seeds with your elementary school class and place them in decorative holders that the children make. Each child will enjoy watching their flowers grow and will learn that water and sunlight are essential for their growth as they care for them each day.
Use The Following Materials
- sunflower seeds
- small pots
- potting soil
- tissue paper
- scissors
- sunflower stencil
- wiggly eyes
- glue
- markers
- crayons
- paint
- paintbrushes
- milk cartons
- white paper
- craft sticks
- plastic spoons
Cover The Cartons With Paper
Cut the tops off of empty milk cartons so that they are about the same height as the pots that the seeds will be planted in. Pass one out to each child. Have a finished holder available for the children to look at while they are decorating their own. Give the children pieces of white construction paper to cover their milk cartons with. Have each child spread glue on one side of each piece of paper with a craft stick before attaching them to the sides of their carton.
Make Tissue Paper Sunflowers
Once the glue dries, have the children decorate their cartons with tissue paper sunflowers. Print out a template of a sunflower. Trace copies of the petals, leaves, and stem onto different colors of tissue paper. After cutting enough pieces out for all of the sunflowers, allow the children to select the ones that they would like to use and help them glue them onto their cartons. After the tissue paper dries, give the children wiggly eyes to glue onto their flowers. The children can decorate the rest of their cartons with markers, crayons, or paint.
Plant The Seeds
Give each child a flower pot and a plastic spoon. Show them how to fill the bottom of their pots with potting soil. Hand each child a few sunflower seeds to place in their pot. Once the seeds have been added, the children can cover them with soil. The flowerpots will fit inside of the decorative holders. Instruct each child to write their name on the bottom of the holder that they made. Place the holders in a sunny area inside of your classroom.
Set up a time for the children to water their seeds each day. Explain the importance of sunlight as they are doing this and discuss the new growth that is noticed. Once the sunflowers get bigger, let the children bring them home to share with their families.
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