Help your students make a fingerprint flower pot for Mother’s Day this May. Mother’s Day handprint art is always a favorite for all the mamas out there! Although we only used fingerprints for this one, I think it’s safe to include it as a steadfast favorite.
For this art project, students will paint a clay pot and use their fingerprints to create flower images around the pot. Then use some of our DIY wildflower seed bombs and tissue paper to plant a flower for all of the wonderful mothers!
To begin with, if you’re the mama of one of my preschool students . . . walk away! I mean it! Close this post and come back later. Well, at least pretend you didn’t see it. Act surprised, okay? Now that that’s out of the way, I want to share how to make a fingerprint flowerpot for Mother’s Day.
Here are the supplies you’ll need (Please note that I may get commissions for purchases made through links in this post):
- Small terra cotta clay pots
- Acrylic paint in various colors
- Paint brushes
- Tissue paper
- Ribbon
- Clear plastic gift bags
- Homemade seed bombs from Frugal Girls
This week, I had a blast making these flowerpots with my preschool students! To begin the project, the kiddos used white acrylic paint on the small clay pots.
Once the white paint had dried, I called each child over individually to design the flowerpot for his mom. I laid out a variety of acrylic paints for them to choose from — red, pink, yellow, green, purple, and blue. I poured the paint into shallow plastic cups so the children’s small hands could fit into them easily. For the fingerprint flowers, the kids placed one painted fingertip in the middle. They chose different colors to paint 5 or 6 fingerprints around the central one. There was enough room for each child to paint 4 fingerprint flowers on her clay pot.
Related: 12 Flower Sensory Bottles Just Right for Spring
After the fingerprint flowers were dried, I wrote “Happy Mother’s Day – 2013” along the top edge of each pot. Since the pots were small, it would have been too difficult for the kids to do this on their own. I made sure the students got to choose which color permanent markers on used, of course!
Related: Mother’s Day Handprint Art
Related: Spring Crafts for Preschoolers
The kids put tissue paper squares inside their flowerpots, along with 2 seed bombs. We made the seed bombs at our school’s Dirt & Mud Day (more on that later) and let them dry in preparation for the kids’ Mother’s Day gifts. We used the “recipe” from Frugal Girls’ “DIY Wildflower Seed Bombs” post.
From there, the flowerpots were placed in clear cellophane gift bags and tied with ribbon (the kids chose the colors). The kiddos made a card with two sides to attach to their flowerpots. One side said “love, (name)” — they wrote that out for their mamas. The other side had a flower outline they colored in, along with the words “you make every day bloom with happiness”. I wish I could take credit for that cute saying, but I can’t. One of my former colleagues came up with it for me (thanks, T)! 🙂
I think the boys and girls did a great job with their Mother’s Day gifts! I know they can’t wait to take them home. Some of the kids are already planning on where they’ll hide the gifts prior to Mother’s Day. The consensus seems to be under their beds, in case you were wondering. What are you doing for Mother’s Day gifts this year?
Shared at The Sunday Showcase, Tuesday Tots, Discover & Explore: Flowers
Done-for-You Preschool Resources
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What adorable ideas! Love them all. and I still have time to try one or two with my girls! Thanks for mixing it up with us this week!
Thanks for hosting the More Than Mommies Mixer, Christine. I had fun checking out some new blogs and checking in with others I already follow. Let me know if you try any of the activities with your girls. Always fun to hear how other kiddos fare! 🙂
oh how pretty! thanks for sharing 🙂
Claudia @ http://www.prettylittledahlia.com
Thanks, Claudia! I’m very happy with how they turned out as well. 🙂
Have you joined Lets Get Social Sunday this morning??? If not, lotsa new friends and followers are waiting on you. See Ya There!
Hugs
Evelyn
@ My Turn for us
http://www.myturnforus.com/
No I haven’t, but I will have to check it out! Thanks for letting me know, Evelyn. 🙂
Thanks for letting me know, Evelyn! I will definitely check it out! 🙂
I love this! It turned out so cute.
Thanks, Jessica! I hope the mamas enjoy them too!
These are adorable, Mary Catherine! Definitely pinning again. Love the seed bombs, too. What a great addition to those adorable pots! 🙂
Thanks, Asia! My students have had soooo much fun with those seed bombs! We knew we had to include them in our Mother’s Day gifts. I hope the mamas love the pots as well. 🙂
Aww! The moms will love it!!
Thanks, Amy! I sure hope they do. 🙂
I made these last weekend for our Granny’s 99th birthday but used my daughter’s footprints to make a butterfly. Question – after we painted the pots and planted the plants, they sat overnight. The next morning, the paint was running due to the moisture absorbed by the terra cotta pots. What can you use to seal them so that this does not happen?
These are adorable by the way.
Hi Jill! Thanks for stopping by. Sorry to hear that your paint ran overnight — that’s no fun at all. Since ours were pretty small, I figured they’d end up being used to hold jewelry or little office supplies (rather than plants). So we didn’t actually seal them. Yes, I believe there is a sealant out there, but for the life of me I cannot think of the name. I would suggest going to the craft store and checking by the acrylic paints — they should have sealants there. Oh, and I think using the kids’ feet as butterflies sounds darling! 🙂
What a great mother’s day gift and keepsake. Love these!
Thanks Ann! I think they turned out well, and the preschoolers were SO excited to give them to their moms last Friday! Engineer actually made a slightly larger version for his grandma. She seemed to like it, as well!
So pretty! May I feature it in a Mother’s Day round up (in April)?