I can’t believe it is May already and although it signals the beginning of the cold months, it also means that it is mother’s day. Contrary to what all the shops believe, the only thing that I am interested in on mother’s day is lots of extra hugs from my little ones and something hand made. The excited expression on my children’s faces as they proudly hand me their handmade wares is enough to make every frustrated, gross and exhausted parenting moment worth it (although a foot rub and some chocolates from dad help too).
I loved this pipe cleaner craft from Michelle Webber of Clamber Club Sports and these flowers would make the perfect mother’s day gift.
Today we attempted to turn pipe cleaners into beautiful flowers – and it was a success!! These would be great for children to make as a spring craft or for a Mother’s day gift. They can set it on their desks at work or as a keepsake.
Supplies
• Pipe cleaners
• Pony beads
• Buttons
• Striped paper straws
• Punch ( to punch a hole in the middle of the paper circle)
• Paper for the circles ( I used some coloured paper)
• Tape
• Glass cheese shaker or colander
Process
This is a wonderful activity for working those fine motor skills. Cutting and beading are difficult for small fingers, but are so immensely satisfying for your little ones when they succeed. I started off by showing them how to make little cuts in the circles to turn them into flowers.
Stick the pipe cleaners into the top on to an upside down colander to make it easy to decorate. Then having already cut the circles, place these on the ends of the pipe cleaners.
The children can use coloured tape to put around their ‘stems’
Then it was just about letting the children get on with beading and putting on their flowers. It was so much fun to watch them go wild, threading on buttons and beads and really making their flowers come to life.
Some of the flowers were quite laden with beads and became a bit heavy. In order to stop the beads and buttons from falling off we taped the tops of some of the flowers and on others we simply bent the end of the pipe cleaner over.
How cute is she with her bouquet for her mom? The project was a bit abstract for the children at first because they didn’t understand what the bouquet would look like at the end. All they could see was a bunch of pipe cleaners in holes. But, when we taped the stems together and they held it for the first time, they were very happy bunch (excuse the pun)!
I loved this craft because it taught the children new skills, including using their imaginations and having an open mind when it comes to learning new things. And then don’t forget the ever important fine motor skills, making this child-led activity a real winner.
Contributed by Michelle Webber of Clamber Club Sports Glenwood
Tel: 072 358 4459
Email: sportsglenwood@clamberclub.com
Website: www.clamberclub.com