April Showers bring May Flowers

You all have said the poem April Showers bring May Flowers as a child what better way to bring in the change of seasons then with painted paper flowers for spring!

First we looked at the colorful book, Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert. The images are so easy to view for a child the bold, bright colors are perfect for teaching the color wheel. 

 Next each student received a 10 x 10 inch piece of paper, folded it in half, then painted with one color a shape only on one side. After that shape, or line was painted the student folded over the paper, rubbed just a little, then opened the folded paper. Magic!
You now have the same shape on the other side by transferring the image! 

Here are a few examples:

Then students painted a fun twisting stem!

Once the projects were dried, students cut out the flower and glued the flower top onto the stem

You can also incorporate symmetry with the lesson as well!

Here is another project also inspired by the same book. Students created flowers growing along a picket fence.  First they made the fence out of 1" strips of white paper. They then cut out shapes from painted paper to create the flower top, then added stems with paint.

I hope you enjoyed our flowers and may you bloom where you are planted!




Laura is a elementary art teacher who is the author of the blog Painted Paper. She has presented her thematic units nationally at the National Art Education Association and Ohio Art Eduction Association Conferences. You can follow her updates on fun and creative projects for kids here