Is it just me or has anyone else been feeling like their wild children are taking over the house lately? I think the colder weather and rain has been putting a pause on outdoor play time, and the kids are revolting because I haven’t been as good at creating fun activities and projects like I had been. I know it’s fall, but I decided we needed a little bit of flowers and sunshine in a fun project this week. If you want something with a fall theme, my Owl craft and snack would be perfect! We hit the dollar store for supplies for this flower planting sensory box. I’m always amazed at the great deals I can find there!
What You Need for Your Flower Planting Sensory Box
- Some kind of plastic bin (I picked ours up at target)
- Pinto Beans (we used 4 bags from the dollar store)
- Assortment of fake flowers (from the dollar store)
- Mason jars (I had in our kitchen)
- shovels, sifters, etc (we got ours at the dollar store)
Time for FUN
I prepped the flower planting sensory box during nap time for a good surprise when they woke up. 4 bags of pinto beans were dumped into the bin. The flower stems got a trim so they were short enough to fit in the mason jars, and there would be only 1 flower per stem.
I lined up the mason jars, shovels & scoops, and flowers in the bin with the pinto beans so they would be ready to go!
“Oh wow, what’s that?!” were the words I heard when I told them I had a special surprise! I showed them how to fill up the jars with the beans and then plant their flowers inside. We probably spent about 20-30 minutes scooping and arranging flowers while we read our book!
The next morning, after a night without much sleep, my son knew I was upset with him. As soon as he got downstairs, he went straight to the bin and brought me a beautiful bouquet in a “vase.” Then he told me, “sorry mommy.” Well, melt my heart right there.
Let’s Read our Flower Book!
I am a huge fan of lift-the-flap books! Flaps are a great way to keep kids involved in learning, using critical thinking skills, and building excitement on a new non-fiction topic! Having an answer to a question under a flap gives kids a chance to think of the answer to the question on top before reading the answer. We went with How Do Flowers Grow, which is perfect for preschoolers and early elementary kids to explore basic biology and plant life!
Since I LOVE science and biology, this book was right up my alley! I loved explaining photosynthesis, and pollination, and learning about all kids of flowers! The information is broken down into small chunks with questions and answers. This makes listening and learning easier for small kids who don’t like to sit still. It also makes a great classroom book to ask preschoolers what they already know and educate as you read.
We learned lots of fun facts
- The biggest flower is called a Rafflesia and is up to 3 feet wide
- Not only do leaves grow in the spring, but a tree’s roots do too!
- Flowers can attract insects, hummingbirds & bats
- A plant uses light from the sun to make their own food
I hope this fun flower activity can bring a little springtime into your house! If you liked this flower planting sensory box, check out my construction sensory box for some digging & building fun! You can also check out all the UBAM lift-the-flap books here if you are looking for something a little different for your home or classroom! If you would like to be in the loop for more fun & projects like this flower planting sensory box & book pairing, check out my VIP group! To learn how to earn this book and many more for free, contact me!
[…] & activities with our books to make it a really fun experience! A few of our favorites are our flower & construction sensory bins, and our holiday crafts like our thanksgiving turkeys and patriotic […]