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July 8, 2010 | 14 Comments

Flower Math Activity

 math for kids

We have giant daisies in our backyard and thank goodness we do because all my son has wanted to do for art lately has been firetruck or dirt related. Not that most of my readers can’t appreciate that but it’s nice to squeeze some prettier more genteel themes in with the diggers and sirens. This flower math activity was fast but substantial and after making it we picked a few daisies and counted their petals too!

  1. Gather your materials. You will need 4 colors (white, yellow, green and blue) of construction paper (really you only need one full piece, the others can be scrap), a marker, glue, scissors, and a circle paper punch if you have it.
  2. Start by punching out some yellow circles, for the center of the daisies. My son adored this step and I had to get him some scrap paper to keep going.
  3. Cut some stems from the green paper. You can make leaves too, however we just chose not to.
  4. Cut out petals from the white paper.
  5. Ask your child for numbers to put in the middle of the flowers. Alternatively you can write in the numbers you know your child is struggling with , if you do that write a few they are consistently successful with as well. By setting them up for success with some of the numbers you will boost their confidence and they are more likely to take on the challenge of a “trickier” number.
  6. Glue the stems on.
  7. Add glue for the centers.
  8. Next, add the centers.
  9. Add the petals. I had my son read me the number in this flower math activity, then he counted the petals as he added them. Then after he was done we “checked his work” by counting them again.
  10. Let dry.

Song to go with Your Flower Math Activity

I’m a little daisy
tall and slim.
Here are my petals and here is my stem.
When the sun comes up and the rain comes down
I grow and grow up from the ground.

Books

Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes is a lovely book about having confidence, losing confidence and regaining it in the end. Chrysanthemum is a little mouse who loves her name until she goes to school and is picked on for it being out of the ordinary. Who can’t relate to this? I know I can. Thankfully my son has yet to experience this all too common, but still so heartbreaking experience. I love that I have a book like this to share with him and open up about it before it happens. Ultimately Chrysanthemum learns to love her name again and regains the confidence she once had. Another fantastic book from a consistently wonderful author.

The Gardener

The Gardener by Sarah Stewart Is a really touching book that I would happily recommend for school-age children. It’s a beautiful story about a little girl during the depression who is shipped to the city to work in her uncle’s bakery because both her parents are out of work.  She is obviously nervous but knows that it’s something she has to do.  She takes a little of the country with her in seed packets. Then she plants them in the city while she learns about baking and becomes friends with her uncle’s employees.

This is more a story about making the most of hard times and would be a great way to talk about the great depression with your child. There are so many little things in the illustrations by David Small to talk about, from a picture of FDR to traveling by train and the general sense of sadness.  In the end, it”™s a warm-hearted book that I can”™t wait to share with my son in a few years.

The Boy Who Grew Flowers by Jennifer Wojtowicz is one of those books that stays with you. Rink is a little boy whose family is strange. Rink is no exception as with every full moon he sprouts flowers from his head. At school he is an outsider and only when a new girl comes to school does he make a friend. He reaches out to her because she too is an outsider, not at school, in her own family. In the end, the kindred spirits celebrate their uniqueness. This odd romantic story will warm your heart and serves as a great lesson about how we all feel different and like an outsider sometimes. The illustrations by Steve Adams will stun you, they were so vibrant and paired so perfectly with the story. Wonderful!

Filed Under: Age Preschool, Age: Toddlers, Counting, Daisies, Flower, Flower art, Math Activities, Numbers, Preschool Crafts | 14 Comments

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14 Comments

  1. Deborah says

    July 8, 2010 at 5:22 am

    This is such a cute math idea! I love just about anything that incorporates flowers:)
    .-= Deborah´s last blog ..At play with baby- Big bear-little bear =-.

    to Deborah" aria-label='reply to this comment to Deborah'>reply to this comment
  2. Mama D. says

    July 8, 2010 at 9:35 am

    I love this! My girl is doing it as we speak and I expect to have a little while to get some stuff done! She wanted to add leaves to the stems and grass! So it will keep her attention for a while.

    to Mama D." aria-label='reply to this comment to Mama D.'>reply to this comment
  3. Charlotte says

    July 8, 2010 at 12:35 pm

    Love this activity! When I taught Kindergarten I began the year by reading Chrysanthemum, one of my all-time favorites! It’s not flower-themed, but Odd Velvet is another fantastic picture book about celebrating what makes us unique!

    to Charlotte" aria-label='reply to this comment to Charlotte'>reply to this comment
  4. Bethany @ The Paper Pony says

    July 8, 2010 at 7:02 pm

    Great idea! I think you and I were on the same wavelength this week- I just did a post about flower math. My girls (and boy) love flowers- what a great teaching tool. I just love your blog for all of the great ideas and books you post!

    to Bethany @ The Paper Pony" aria-label='reply to this comment to Bethany @ The Paper Pony'>reply to this comment
    • admin says

      July 8, 2010 at 10:16 pm

      I love your flower game! Very cool – I bookmarked it!

      to admin" aria-label='reply to this comment to admin'>reply to this comment
  5. Christina says

    July 11, 2010 at 1:41 pm

    We LOVED this one, My son as well as the children I watched had the funnest time counting out the petals. With all of the kids I did have them try to cut out the stems themselves, one of them was actually able use them on his flowers! I love all of your ideas, thanks so much!

    to Christina" aria-label='reply to this comment to Christina'>reply to this comment
  6. Mary says

    July 20, 2010 at 2:51 pm

    Hi — I just love your site. I wanted to let you know that I linked to your blog in my latest post – it was a post about how “unfun” flashcards are! Your site name came to mind! Thank you for such wonderful resources!
    .-= Mary´s last blog ..Making Math Fun!! – The Number Ladder Game =-.

    to Mary" aria-label='reply to this comment to Mary'>reply to this comment
  7. Julie says

    April 26, 2012 at 12:44 pm

    This looks fun. My kids ask to do a “flower one” all the time when we do our daily math journals (I just have them draw them though) but making a craft out of it would be all the better! Thanks for the idea.

    to Julie" aria-label='reply to this comment to Julie'>reply to this comment
  8. Mairi says

    February 6, 2015 at 2:46 am

    My 5 year old declared this her favourite activity of her first week of schooling! 🙂

    to Mairi" aria-label='reply to this comment to Mairi'>reply to this comment

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