Flower Colors in a Basket

Needed Items
-Basket
-Plastic green lawn - (I found mine at the dollar store)
-Silk flowers on stems (also from the dollar store) at least one for each child
-Any color choosing device (I made mine with construction paper)

For this activity I chose a nice basket. It needs to be the proper size to just fit the green lawn into place.

 

The plastic green lawn has holes on the back side of it.These are just the right size to fit the silk flower stems into. 

 I fit the green lawn piece into the top of the basket. The edges should hold the green lawn in place.

 

The flower stems fit right into the holes and will fill the basket. 

I made different colored papers to match each flower and placed them in a pile. I had each child draw the top card and tell everyone what color they drew. The children then would choose a flower from the flower container and "Plant" it in the flower basket. 

 

I have each child in the circle add a flower until the basket is full.

If I need more flowers to fill my basket I let everyone have a second turn if time allows for it. I make sure that I have enough time for everyone to have the same number of turns. The children love to build the flower bouquet!

*ADAPTATIONS*

It is also fun to reverse the whole process and "Pick" flowers from the basket until it is empty. 

Children also love to play with the flower basket and flowers during free play time. The flowers are fun to take out and put back in, but this works well only when one child playing with the basket at a time. I set a timer or use a sand timer to help them take turns building the basket. 

Build the basket before circle time and pick the flowers out of the basket yourself. Ask the children what color you picked. Place the flowers into a container or give one to every child to hold. 
WARNING - If you give them the flower to free hold it is likely that some children will get into mischief with it. It is a huge temptation for children to tap their neighbor with it. 

Pretend to smell them and ask what they smell like. Some dramatic creativity is required! 
Ask them if the flowers "smell" like fish, a skunk, cotton candy, etc. Kids love to say "No!" or "Yes!" altogether in a group.