My four-year-olds made these! Some of them had just learned cutting so it was definitely a challenge, but they were up for it and they persevered and I was so proud of them! I was inspired by this post from Deep Space Sparkle, an awesome website with so many great resources by elementary school art teacher Patty Palmer. She has great instructions for this project which she did with kindergartners. We simplified a bit since my kids were younger, so I’ll go over our version.
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Supplies needed:
Colored paper in a rainbow mix ~ you can cut up old art mixed with some construction paper
, and some origami paper
if you want some patterns.
A piece of cardboard (I cut mine from a box in rectangular sizes, about 8″ x 11″)
I supplied circles for the middle that I cut from muffin tin papers. I thought they would get frustrated cutting a circle. I cut all of the papers into small rectangular shapes, then I taught them how to cut a petal by placing your scissors at the bottom in the middle, curving out, then ending at the top middle. This concept was tough! I helped some of the girls by putting my fingers in the scissors with their fingers on top. This allowed them to go through the movements and understand the concept of “curved”. After they chose their own colors and cut their petals, they laid them out around the middle and used the glue stick to glue them on. Some of the kids made a stem and leaves, but some were so tired from cutting they were done!
I love the sweet & proud smile on this one. Melts my heart.
I am a huge proponent of open-ended art so this project was a little out of my comfort zone, but I also think it’s important to teach skills from time to time, and I loved how simple this was. Cutting, glueing and learning about the colors of the rainbow are all great lessons for four-year olds. And they were so excited to have a finished piece to show their mamas!
xo, Bar
These are so pretty and that last pic with the little lovey smiling holding her art is too much! We used to use a trick in kindergarten for cutting leaf shapes from rectangles. They kids would fold the paper in half and then cut off the corners. When you open it back up it looks like a leaf. Sometimes it made it a little easier for those little learners. Love this sweet post. And Deep Space Sparkle!!
This is super cute! I love all the pretty colored paper. It looks so inviting. I tried the ice cream cone on cardboard project with my boys and some kiddos from the neighborhood. I think I might have to try this set up as well. You are an inspiration! I love all your pretty posts.
oh my gosh, thank you kaci for trying all of my art projects!! i love hearing this so much. send me photos if you take them!! xo bar