When developing curriculum, daycare providers must include age-appropriate activities for young children that develop fine motor skills. This Memorial Day poppy craft will support creative arts development as well as promote visual motor coordination, bilateral coordination, and hand strength.

Memorial Day Poppy CraftImage Source

Children’s creativity blossoms through rich experience in the arts. According to Play Projects and preschool Standards by Gera Jacobs and Kathy Krowley, “Through the arts, children learn to express themselves and discover that they can represent their thoughts and ideas through many different media. The arts help children develop the concept that one thing can represent an idea…Art assists children in making meaning of their world”. Art nurtures creativity.

Fine motor skills are actions that involve the small movement of hands, wrists, feet, fingers, toes, tongue, and lips. Some important fine motor concepts and skills that preschool age children learn to master are bilateral coordination, visual motor coordination, grasp, hand use, manipulation skills, pincer grasp, wrist rotation, pre-writing grasp, hand strength, and tactile awareness.

Children learn fine motor skills through practice. Activities which involve writing, drawing, cutting, stringing, and buttoning are great examples of activities that promote the development of fine motor skills.

This Memorial Day poppy craft  includes a materials list and teaching structions for this activity. It also provides age-appropriate learning objectives and a sample of the simple supporting verbal cues necessary to encourage participation and support learning.

Secondcitysoiree.com says “Memorial Day” typically leans towards red/white/blue decor, but if you’d like to go in a slightly different (yet still patriotic) direction, remember the poppy”.  So without further ado, here is a cute poppy craft for Memorial Day inspired by Thatartistwoman.org.

Memorial Day Poppy Materials

  • Newspaper
  • Red paint
  • Paintbrush
  • Scissors
  • Glue
  • Thin cardboard
  • Twigs
  • Poppy seeds

Memorial Day Poppy Craft Instructions

  1. Have the kids paint their newspaper red.  Allow to dry completely.
  2. Meanwhile, have the kids cut two a small circle out of the cardboard
  3. Have the kids glue cover their cardboard circle with glue, then sprinkle poppy seeds on the glue, pressing on the seeds to make sure they are secure.
  4. Once the poppy has dried, kids can glue the circle to the center of the poppy and glue the twig to the back of the poppy.
  5. Allow to dry completely.

Memorial Day Poppy  Lesson Objectives

Objective 1
To provide the opportunity for expressive activities by encouraging the children to paint a Memorial Day Poppy.
Verbal Cue A: Today we are going to make Memorial Day poppies.
Verbal Cue B: Would you like to paint the newspaper bright red?

Objective 2
Objective 1: To provide the opportunity for increased visual-motor coordination, bilateral coordination, hand strength, and pincher grasp.
Verbal Cue A: Let’s a small circle out of the cardboard.
Verbal Cue B: I like the way you are using your scissors to cut circles.

{ 0 comments }

Daycare Crafts with Multiple Age Groups

May 23, 2013

Tweet Tweet One of the great things about being a child care provider is that you have the opportunity to interact with children in a variety of age groups. Child care providers sometimes take care of infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and school age children all in one space. However, it can be complicated to manage activities [...]

Read the full article →

7 DIY Homemade Paint Recipes for Kids

May 22, 2013

Tweet Tweet Art supplies for home daycare businesses can be expensive. However you can save some money by making your own art supplies materials and you can also keep children safe because you know what’s going in them. Paint is one of the craft materials that children in your home daycare will use over and over again in creative [...]

Read the full article →

Memorial Day Tissue Paper Flag Craft for Preschoolers

May 21, 2013

Tweet Tweet Memorial Day, observed on the last Monday in the month of May, is an American federal holiday that commemorates U.S. men and women who died while in the military service.Here is a fun creative arts activity I found on Pinterest that allows children to use their creative skills to make a Memorial Day [...]

Read the full article →

Summer Ice Cream Cone Craft for Kids

May 17, 2013

Tweet Tweet When developing curriculum, daycare providers must include age-appropriate activities for young children that develop fine motor skills. This ice cream cone painting and scissor skills activity will support a creative arts unit as well as promote visual motor coordination, bilateral coordination, and hand strength. This is a great craft for the summer. Image [...]

Read the full article →

How to Raise Your Daycare Rates

May 16, 2013

Tweet Tweet At some point, every daycare owner has to adjust his or her rates.  It’s just the way it is with the rising cost of living. If you need tips for how to raise your daycare rates and give proper notice, keep reading: A daycare owner asks: “Hello, I recently increased my prices for [...]

Read the full article →

Summer Ocean/Beach Sensory Bin Activity for Preschoolers

May 15, 2013

Tweet Tweet Summer is a great time to allow kids to explore a variety of textures and explore the environment around them. Celebrate summer in your in-home family daycare or daycare center with a fun sensory bin activity with a summer theme. Image Source Sensory activities help children develop a sense of touch and help enhance [...]

Read the full article →

Summer Snacks: Recipes for Daycare and Preschool

May 14, 2013

Tweet Tweet It’s summer and things are heating up! If you’re serving the same snacks over and over again in your  daycare centers we’re going to help you mix it up with these quick, creative, nutritious toddler and preschooler treats and snack ideas we’ve found around the web, mostly Pinterest. Click the links beside the recipe name for [...]

Read the full article →

Memorial Day Reading List and Free Coloring Pages

May 13, 2013

Tweet Tweet Memorial Day, observed on the last Monday in the month of May, is an American federal holiday that commemorates U.S. men and women who died while in the military service. Teach young children about Memorial Day through military themed lesson plans and activities. Consider the following reading lists and resources for free Memorial [...]

Read the full article →

Family Matters: Help Your Kids Adjust to Your In-Home Family Daycare

May 9, 2013

Tweet Tweet If you have toddlers and school age children at home who you care for while you’re running an-in home daycare, your kids might have some issues adjusting because they don’t always have your full time and attention like they used to. A daycare owner asks: “I’ve been doing daycare for a year and my son [...]

Read the full article →