Do you enjoy looking at flowers when you’re outside during the spring and summer? I do too! Whether it’s roses, daisies, sunflowers, poppies, or tulips, there are many different types of flowers you may see during the spring and summer seasons. With this activity you can make your own flower using your hand! This activity allows school-age children to improve their fine motor skills through cutting, folding, and drawing.
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Supplies
2 sheets or more of construction/cardstock paper in any color for your flower petals
1 sheet of construction paper in any color for the middle of your flower
1 sheet of green construction paper for the leaves
1 popsicle stick
1 paint brush
Green paint
Paint marker in any color (optional)
Glue Stick
Scissors
Pencil
Activity Steps:
Before you begin, make sure you are doing this activity on a clean and flat surface. Also, make sure to get permission from an adult or have an adult help you when using scissors. You can always ask for help while doing this activity!
Let’s Get Started!
Step 1:To begin, we are going to make the flower petals. You will do this by tracing your hand four times on construction paper of any color with our pencil. I chose pink but you can choose any color you like! For you to trace your hand, you first need to lay the paper down on the table. Then, place the hand you are not holding the pencil with on the paper and spread them out wide. It may be easier to trace with your dominant hand. Since I am a righty, I will trace my left hand. We can begin tracing now! Using your marker, you are going to trace around the outside of your hand so that when you lift your hand there will be a handprint on the paper. You need to do this four times so that there are four handprints. I used two sheets of construction paper to do this but you can use as many as you need! When you are done tracing your hand four times, you can get ready to draw for the next step.
Step 2: Next, we need to draw leaves. First, get your green construction paper. We will be using ovals to make our leaves. Think of an egg laying on its side. That is what an oval looks like! Draw two small ovals to make two leaves. Once you have two leaves, you can prepare to move on to the next step.
Step 3: Now, we are going to get construction paper that is a different color than the petals and leaves to make the middle of your flower which is called the pistil. I chose yellow but you can choose whatever color you want. We will make this part by drawing a circle. Using your pencil, you will need to draw a big circle. If the circle isn’t big enough on the first try, that’s okay. Try again! I drew numerous circles before deciding which one was right. Make sure when you choose, you’re choosing one that is the most round in shape. Once you have your circle drawn, you can set your pencil to the side, you will need it in a little bit.
Step 4: Now that everything is drawn and traced, you need to pick up your scissors to prepare to cut. If you need help, ask an adult or make sure an adult is standing near you while you cut. First, you will cut out the handprints that you traced by cutting along the line that you made with the pencil. When you have finished with the first one you can begin cutting out the second one. Keep doing this until all four handprints are cut out. When you have cut out all four handprints, you can put the extra paper to the side.
Step 5: For the next step you need the handprints you just cut out. For every handprint, Cut a short line at the bottom. This will allow us to give the handprint a curvy look later so that it looks more like a flower!
Step 6: Now, you will need to get the paper with the circle that you drew. Then, cut out the circle by cutting along the pencil mark the same way you did for the handprint. Once you have cut out the circle, you can put that paper to the side.
Step 7: Now, you will need to get the green paper with the leaves and cut out the leaves by cutting along the pencil mark again. Once you have cut out the leaves, you can put that paper to the side.
Step 8: Now, we need to curl the ends of the hands to make them look like flowers. This step has many photos so that you don’t get confused. Grab your pencil that you used earlier and place it on top of the edge of a finger on the handprint. Then, gently roll the finger forward over the pencil to make it curvy. You need to do this with all five fingers. Once you have curled all of the fingers, you can put your pencil away. You will not be using it again.
Step 9: Now we will decorate the pistil of the flower. Remember this is the middle of the flower. You do not have to do this for your flower but if you would like to, I will show you how! For this step, you will need your paint marker and your circle. Use the paint marker to draw small circles on the big circle until there is no more room. Once you have done this, you can put the paint marker away. You will not be using it again.
Step 10: Now we can begin gluing! Grab your circle and one of the hands you traced. Take the two ends of the hand that have been separated and place glue on one side. Next, stick the other side of the slit to the glue side. You will need to do this with all four handprints.
Step 11: Glue the bottom of the hand to the back of the circle so that the circle is on top. After you have done this, keep doing it until all four of the hands are glued to the circle.
Step 12: Now, grab your popsicle stick, green paint, and paint brush. I used a foam brush but you can use any kind of paint brush! Be sure to have an adult nearby in case there is a spill. The popsicle stick will be the stem of your flower. Since flower stems are green, we will need to paint our popsicle stick green. Sit your popsicle stick to the side for five minutes or more to allow it to dry. We’re almost done!
Step 13: Once your popsicle stick is dry, you will need it and your flower for this step. Put glue on the top of the popsicle stick and press down so that the flower sticks to it.
Step 14: Next, grab your leaves. Place a small amount of glue on the first leaf and glue it a little bit below the flower. After this, go down a little lower and glue the other leaf to the stick.
Your handprint flower is now done! I hope you had fun making your handprint flower, like I did! Now you have a vibrant and unique flower to show all of your friends and family. Be sure to clean up your area and put away all materials. You can always make another handprint flower using different colors.