Giant Sunflower!

Giant Sunflower! 

It was a cold, dark and dreary day so we made our own cheer with this fun project. This is a great project for a day when you are stuck inside because there are so many steps. You can act out how a seed grows into a plant while you are waiting for your sunflower to dry! 

1. Gather your materials. You will need a paper bag, a paper plate, some black rice, glue, yellow and green paint, a marker, scissors, a bath poof or sponge, and double stick tape.

2. Start by cutting your grocery bag open and drawing a long stem along one edge. Draw multiple petals on the rest of it.

3. Cut the stem outline out and have children paint it green. My son loved using the roller paints for this because it was so easy to make long straight lines. Let dry.

4. Paint the petals with the bath poof or sponge. I find that when we are painting a large surface it's much better to use a big tool that covers easily.

5. Paint the bottom of the paper plate with the yellow paint too. Let dry.

6. Cut out the petals.

7. Add glue to the center of the paper plate - more is better so this is a great time to let children control the glue.

8. Add the rice. My son added a few grains at first, but then dumped the whole dish on. Let dry. This actually dried to the touch pretty fast.

9. Flip the plate upside down and using the double stick tape, fasten the petals on.

10. Tape the stem on.

11. Brighten even the darkest day!

Allison McDonald

has been teaching young children in various capacities since 1993. She started as a day camp leader in high school, taught various preschool programs at community centers through university, worked as a tutor while pursuing a second degree in elementary education, and most recently worked as a director and preschool teacher before becoming a full time mom. Now that she is at home she keeps one foot in education while sharing that side of her life with her son and the results have been amazing.

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