As we read and studied our way through the United States geography, we reached Kansas and I thought of two things: Wizard of Oz and sunflowers. As a kid when I stopped at the Kansas Welcome Center they gave me a package of sunflower seeds. These would sit in our car and we’d have fun looking at them, and we would stop and get sunflower seeds to eat. Fast forward a few years or so and I’m preparing for a sunflower preschool lesson with my kids and I remembered Van Gogh’s painting. So for this book and activity-inspired geography lesson, we’re making sunflower artwork.
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Starting with the boring part of the sunflower preschool lesson
I found this super cool site with some sunflower ideas and used their sunflower life cycle page as part of our Kansas study after reading. First, we read about how they grew from Sunflowers: First Step Nonfiction. I have to say this is my favorite book about plants so far because it had great pictures and a great explanation of how plants grew.
Now to the fun part of our sunflower preschool lesson
We read Sunflower House by Eve Bunting, I love her books, she can write about so many different topics well. Then Mortimer’s First Garden, which is a great book. Karma Wilson is amazing. The kids super loved it.
Then I made this fingerpaint recipe from Pocketful of Posies, and she’s right it makes A LOT. So, now I have a whole tub full of finger paint waiting to be turned into different colors.
Side note, if you are completing this lesson with older kids, then you might try these paper plate flowers.
At first, I was very strict on the whole you must paint a sunflower. That was their first index card (and let me just say I’m loving this whole index card art, it’s a great size for displaying and keeping in lapbooks and such, and it’s not overwhelming for when they don’t feel like painting).
After the first one, they just had at it, and I added in a few more colors. I’m looking forward to when we try this again.
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