We love this sweeping activity so much that we’ve done it with leaves, pine needles, flower petals, and bird seed! 

Check out the end of the post where I share two new ways to use this activity board. 

Ready to give these sunflower activities a try?! Here’s what you’ll need..

Supplies:

• Sunflower Seeds
• Black Beans if allergic to sunflower seeds
• Box lid
• Markers
• Paintbrushes

Optional:

• Tweezers
• Glue

This post contains Affiliate links for your convenience.

RELATED: Check out Rainbow Flower Threading Board

Here’s What We Did:

Step 1:

First, find a cardboard box lid and draw a sunflower outline on the inside part of the lid. This can be as basic or detailed at you want it to be. I searched “how to draw a sunflower” on Pinterest and just followed the instructions step by step!

Step 2:

Spread your sunflower seeds around your sunflower. I rinsed the salt off of the sunflower seeds and let them dry first because I didn’t want a salty/powdery residue on the box. 

*If you are working with a classroom of kids or your child has a sunflower allergy, try dried black beans! They look similar and have the same effect.*

Sunflower Activity 1:

Now you are all set to invite your child to sweep the seeds into the sunflower’s head. This is a fun way to work on pencil grip and strengthen those fine motor muscles. Activities like this help prepare your child to hold a pencil correctly and write properly! 

Children also love the challenge of sweeping the seeds into one spot. It’s more difficult than you would think and will keep your little one busy for a while!

This activity helps children make the connection that sunflower seeds grow in the head of the sunflower and will also help them identify the seeds in the future!

It looks so cute when complete!

Sunflower Activity 2:

Ok, I know what you are thinking…this is adorable and I want more sunflower activities!

Here is another idea:

You can also place the seeds in the sunflower head and invite your child to tweeze the seeds out! This is another great fine motor activity and fun way to pluck the sunflower seeds. I used less seeds for this activity than the sweeping option. It seemed a bit overwhelming and the tweezers take much longer to use. 

This activity is a new favorite in our house!

Sunflower Activity 3:

Try turning this into a permanent piece of art! After trying the other sunflower activities, you can glue the seeds in place and hang it on your wall! Kids will love squeezing the glue bottle and can use the tweezers or their fingers to put the seeds on the sunflower head. 

My little guy was proud of his work!

Pin this activity to save it for later!

I hope you give these sunflower activities a try! I promise, your little nature lovers will love it as much as my boys.

∼Tara

Looking for more easy fine motor activity ideas?! Check out:

A Simple Butterfly Symmetry Activity

Double-Sided Nature Crown Board

The post Sunflower Seed Sweep {3 Fine Motor Activities} appeared first on Little Pine Learners.

Story Stones

Story stones are a favorite in our home. They are easy to make, fun to play with, and soothing to hold. I made story stones and retelling mats for five of our favorite nursery rhymes. My boys practiced retelling the rhymes while placing the stones on the mat. The stones are also a great addition to any loose parts collection!

If you are interested in how I make my story stones, go to this post and scroll to the bottom for instructions.

Stick Puppets

Yes! I glued these picture puppets to REAL sticks! They are fun to play with and display nicely in a vase filled with glass gems.

There are two different types of sticks puppets pictured below. First, I created stick puppets for the actual rhyme. My boys definitely enjoyed retelling the rhymes with these puppets!

The second set of stick puppets are the “voice changing sticks.” My boys had a lot of fun retelling the rhyme in a leprechaun voice, alien voice, spooky voice, and vampire voice. It’s really cute to hear what they think these voices sound like! We laughed a lot during this activity. It’s safe to say this was a really fun way to practice fluency!

Story Sticks

These story sticks offer a unique way to retell nursery rhymes and work on fine motor skills at the same time! Just glue the printable onto the clothespin and clip the clothespins on the stick as you retell the rhyme! This activity is so simple, yet inviting and engaging.

If you love these, I made a similar activity for the story, Room on the Broom. Find further instructions and a link to the Room on the Broom printable here.

Light Story Cups

My boys LOVED these light story cups! Just cut out the printables, glue them to the top of a cup and you are all set. I added the story cups to our light pad and my boys were drawn in to the activity immediately. They took the cups off and on the light pad so many times, I lost count. I would guess they retold the rhyme at least 10 times! By the end of this activity, they were nursery rhyme retelling pros.

Here is an idea if you don’t want to purchase a light pad. Add a flameless tea light under the cup and it works just fine!

This post contains Affiliate links for your convenience.

You can find the printables and further instructions for these four activities along with two more fun nursery rhyme ideas right here in my TPT store!

I hope you give these nursery rhyme activities a try! I promise, your little nature lovers will love it as much as my boys.

∼Tara

Need more creative literacy ideas?! Check out:

Four Ways to Use Stones in the Classroom

Hands-On Ways to Retell “Room on the Broom”

The post Not Your Average Nursery Rhyme Activities appeared first on Little Pine Learners.