Beautiful Fine Motor Spring Craft for Preschoolers to Make
As parents and preschool teachers, we know that developing fine motor skills is so important. With spring just around the corner, why not have a little artsy fun with this spring craft for preschoolers. These also happen to make beautiful Mother’s Day gifts.
And you can grab a FREE printable template at the end of this post, too!
It’s not very often that I offer my preschoolers an actual craft to create (as my regular readers know how much I love process art), so when I do offer a craft it is because I have ulterior motives.
To develop fine motor skills.
And this spring craft is packed full of them!
Scissor cutting, tearing paper, using markers and paints, crumpling paper, etc. I’ll break down why all these skills are good for developing pencil grasp, too.
But if you’re looking for a simple flower preschool craft, this one is awesome. And the preschoolers can make these for Mother’s Day, too! Because we are always looking for flower ideas for Mother’s Day, right?
Could you imagine a bouquet of them?! The printable template at the end of this post has two sizes, just for that reason!
FAQ About Developing Fine Motor Skills
I get asked a lot about how to develop fine motor skills because it is the precursor to developing a mature and functional pencil grasp. And fine motor skills are easy to incorporate into crafts and process art in preschool.
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How to Make Daffodil Craft for Preschoolers
Just a few simple steps to this bright and colorful flower craft! I love yellow daffodils because they are such a welcome after winter. But yellow and orange are such cheerful colors, they bring smiles all year long. (Think preschool moms on Mother’s Day).
Materials
- heavy cardstock
- white cupcake liner (for smaller version)
- coffee filter (for larger version)
- yellow or orange Do-a-Dot marker (or any other marker, really)
- yellow and/orange tissue paper
- liquid school glue
- craft stick
- green paint (unless you use a green craft stick)
The Set-Up
There isn’t much to prepare in advance for this project. I actually just free-handed the daffodil shape onto the card stock, but if you’d rather you can grab a free printable template at the end of the post. I just used the cupcake liner as a guide for how big to make the flower.
Since the printable template comes in two sizes, you can use the cupcake liner for the smaller size, and a coffee filter for the larger size.
If your preschooler isn’t very confident in their scissor skills, then you might want to consider cutting out the daffodil for your preschooler. Admittedly, I cut mine out in advance because I didn’t want my preschoolers to get too frustrated, and it saves a ton of time during our preschool day.
Don’t worry, they gets loads of scissor practice in other cutting activities like the one below.
If you’re looking for a super cool paper flower craft, trace the daffodil template onto a paper plate. The paper plate will add a curved look to the flower, making these tissue paper flowers look lifelike. I do suggest saving that idea for older kids, though.
The Quick Steps to This Flower Craft for Kids
- Paint the craft sticks green. Allow to dry.
- Use the Do-a-Dot markers to “paint” the cupcake liner.
- Tear the tissue paper into small, two inch squares.
- Glue the cupcake liner to the center of the flower cut-out.
- Crumple the tissue paper a little and glue it on the flower cut0out, covering all of it.
- Glue the flower to the craft stick stem.
Step By Step Details of How to Make Daffodil Craft for Preschoolers
This really is such an easy flower craft, and once you’ve made a bunch of them, together they make a stunning flower bouquet. Spring flowers are so inviting, including this easy kids craft.
Start by painting the craft sticks green if you are not using pre-colored craft sticks. Set them aside and allow them to dry completely.
Meanwhile, use the Do-a-Dot marker to add color to the center of the cupcake liner or coffee filer. Remember, the cupcake liner works best for the smaller template, while the coffee filter is perfect for the larger size.
Not to be too technical, since we are talking about crafting with preschoolers, but I loved the flowers best when the preschooler had left the edges of the liners white. Set those aside.
Next, you either want to cut the tissue paper into small pieces, probably no bigger than two inches square, or your preschoolers can tear the paper. Cutting the tissue paper will probably be difficult for some preschoolers, so you can always opt to have them tear the paper.
Since tissue paper is so flimsy (which is what makes it so challenging to cut), I help my preschoolers by having them lay the paper on the table, rather than holding it in the air in front of them.
Alternatively, preschoolers can also practice tearing the tissue appear into small squares, or if you want to skip this step all together you can just purchase pre-cut tissue squares. (No judgement here. I do this all the time!)
You’ll want a nice, healthy pile of tissue paper. It’s better to over estimate how much you will need rather than running out in the middle of an art project.
Next, glue down the cupcake liner to the center of the flower cut-out. For this craft, it was easier to have my preschoolers use a paintbrush to brush liquid school glue on instead of having them squeeze dots of glue.
Then, they got to crumpling the tissue paper and adding little bits all over the flower template, creating the prettiest texture.
Once the flower is completely covered with tissue paper, just glue it onto the green craft stick and allow to dry completely. You can add a pretty ribbon to make it extra special if you are using this as a Mother’s Day craft, too.
So pretty!
Encouraging Fine Motor Development
Each step of this craft requires fine motor work. Scissor cutting helps develop hand strength and muscle control. Tearing paper requires the use of the tripod grasp. The same is true for crumpling the tissue paper. Bonus points if you did let your preschooler make dots of liquid glue because squeezing activities are fantastic for developing hand strength.
Get Your Spring Craft Printable Template
Don’t want to free-hand the flower? No problem! I made a template for you with some clipart. Now, the clipart has a few extra lines, so just flip it over and use the backside after you cut it out.
Want More Spring Craft Ideas?
You love spring that much, don’t you? Here are more craft ideas for kids, including flower craft ideas for spring time or anytime! But they are our favorite preschool spring crafts.
Daffodil Craft Instructions Printable
With spring just around the corner, why not have a little artsy fun with this spring craft for preschoolers. These also happen to make beautiful Mother’s Day gifts.
Materials
- heavy cardstock
- white cupcake liner (for smaller version)
- coffee filter (for larger version)
- yellow or orange Do-a-Dot marker (or any other marker, really)
- yellow and/orange tissue paper
- liquid school glue
- craft stick
- green paint (unless you use a green craft stick)
Instructions
- Paint the craft sticks green. Allow to dry.
- Use the Do-a-Dot markers to “paint” the cupcake liner.
- Tear the tissue paper into small, two inch squares.
- Glue the cupcake liner to the center of the flower cut-out.
- Crumple the tissue paper a little and glue it on the flower cut0out, covering all of it.
- Glue the flower to the craft stick stem.
Notes
Use the cupcake liner for the smaller version and the coffee filter for the larger version of the daffodil template.
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I’m Sarah, an educator turned stay-at-home-mama of five! I’m the owner and creator of Stay At Home Educator, a website about intentional teaching and purposeful learning in the early childhood years. I’ve taught a range of levels, from preschool to college and a little bit of everything in between. Right now my focus is teaching my children and running a preschool from my home. Credentials include: Bachelors in Art, Masters in Curriculum and Instruction.
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