Be sure to add this Mother’s Day flower pot craft to your spring lesson plans! And then check out the rest of our holiday activities for preschoolers and kindergarten kids.
This sweet fingerprint flower pot is perfect for your students’ mothers or maternal figures this May. It doesn’t require too many materials, and the kids can do most of it on their own. Plus, it uses their little fingerprints, which always makes for a sweet keepsake.
It’s also super easy to tweak the Mother’s Day flower pot idea based on your preferences, your students’ ages, and the family situations of the kids.
The first time we made these, the kids’ families absolutely loved them! My son was little then, too, so he had a blast making some fingerprint flower pots with me at home, too.
Mother’s Day Flower Pot Craft
Read below for my prepping tips, as well as the directions for the flower pot craft. Please keep in mind that you can make your own adjustments along the way!
How to Prep the Fingerprint Flower Pot
First, gather the materials you’ll need for the flower pot craft. Here are the supplies that we used (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 (optional)
Once you have all the supplies, it’s just a question of setting up your work area. Here’s what to do:
- Put some white acrylic paint on shallow plates or on small trays. Make sure the kids can reach things easily.
- Keep some wipes or towels on-hand for spills.
- Set out kid-sized smocks or paint-friendly shirts for your students.
- Have the other paint colors ready to go in covered trays for later.
And now it’s time to call the children over! Have them paint their pots with the white paint. Set those to dry and come back the next day for the real fun!
Mother’s Day Flower Pot Craft Directions
Once the white paint has dried, it’s time for the decorative painting to begin! Depending on the ages and needs of your students, this part can be done one-on-one or in small groups. You know your students best.
Place a few different paint colors out for the children to choose from. We went with red, pink, yellow, green, purple, and blue the first time we made these. If that’s too many choices for your students, pick two or three instead. Make sure the paints are in shallow dishes so little hands can access them easily.
To make the fingerprint flowers:
- First have the kids place one painted fingertip as the middle of the flower.
- Then they can use additional colors to add 5 or 6 fingerprint “petals” around the central one.
- Repeat this a few times, depending on how big the flower pot is.
- Let the pots dry.
- Use a marker to add “Happy Mother’s Day” and the year along the rim of the pot.
- Finally, have the children write their names or initials on the bottom of the flower pot.
My pre-k children were able to do a lot of this on their own – with the usual adult supervision, of course. I did help them write on the pots’ rims because the space offered was rather small.
We also worked together to make seed bombs to put inside the pots. The children helped me add tissue paper and seed bombs to their flower pots. Then we placed the pots inside cellophane bags and tied everything up with a ribbon.
Other Ideas for the Homemade Flower Pot Craft
While we loved making the flowers with the kids’ fingerprints, you don’t have to do it that way! I’ve also done it using small paintbrushes, too.
If you go that route, you can let the children freehand paint the flowers. Or consider using round stamp brushes. That all depends on your preference and what’s best for your students.
You can also just let the children paint the flower pots however they prefer. Just because it’s a Mother’s Day flower pot craft doesn’t mean it has to be painted with flowers! Abstract art would be just as fun and pretty, in my opinion.
Alternatively, let the children create a flowerpot with construction paper. They can then use washable tempera paint to add fingerprint flowers. Then help the kids add their names and “Happy Mother’s Day” to the paper version!
Is This Flower Pot Craft Just for Mother’s Day?
While I keep referring to this as a Mother’s Day flower pot craft, it really doesn’t have to just be for Mother’s Day! The children can make these for Father’s Day, Grandparents’ Day, or any other gift-giving holiday. Just be able to change up what you write on the finished flower pots.
Depending on your students, you might have some who don’t live with their mothers or any maternal relatives. You can definitely make adjustments to this craft based on each child’s individual circumstances. That’s the great thing about crafts like this!
More Flower Pot Painting Ideas for Mother’s Day
Here are some other fun ideas if you’re looking for alternatives to my Mother’s Day flower pot craft:
- Hand Painted Flower Pots
- Footprint Butterfly Flower Pot
- Toddler Painted Flower Pots
- Pour Painted Pots
- Chalkboard Flower Pots
I think those are all lovely ideas, what about you? Be sure to save this post for future reference. If you have a Mother’s Day Pinterest board, that’s a good place to start.
Family Lesson Plans
Planning meaningful lessons for students week after week while balancing other teaching responsibilities and a personal life can be a daunting task. That’s where my sister site, Preschool Teacher 101, comes in to save you time!
Family is so important, but it can be difficult for young minds to wrap their heads around the many ways in which families can be different. Check out these family lesson plans to help your students get to know their own families and about their friends’ families! Click on the image below:
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Originally published May 2013.
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