Poinsettia Craft to Make in Preschool with Free Downloadable Template

Poinsettia Craft to Make in Preschool with Free Downloadable Template
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Easy Fun and Festive Poinsettia Craft

This easy to make poinsettia craft is suitable—and fun—for preschoolers. It will add holiday cheer to your classroom, can be attached to a holiday card, or even used to make a wreath.

You will need:

  • Downloadable template for the poinsettia flower petals.
  • 1 sheet of construction paper for each flower
  • Glue stick or white glue
  • pencil with eraser for each child
  • yellow paint
  • safety scissors

Optionally, you will need:

  • card/manila folder to print or trace the pattern
  • small photo of child

Preparation

Print the downloadable PDF file for a template of the poinsettia flower petals. If you want to trace the pattern, print it on plain paper.

poinsettia pattern

make a stencil to trace petals

To make a stencil, either print the pattern on card stock and remove the interior of the pattern, or trace and cut out the petals from plain paper and then trace around them on a manila folder or cardstock. Cut out the two pieces.

Depending on the size of the class, you may want half a dozen patterns or templates for the children to use.

Have the children trace the pieces or the stencil onto a sheet of red construction paper, or for younger children, help them trace. Keep an eye on the pattern tracing - when the children are tracing around the pattern themselves, you need to make sure that both petals fit onto the sheet - there should be plenty of room. If they are using a stencil, the pattern will be spaced correctly.

place the templates on the construction paper

If children have trouble drawing around the template because their pencil or marker slides under the template, consider cutting the templates from light card.

cut the petals out

Help the children cut out the two petals from the construction paper with safety scissors. A little unevenness on the petal edges won’t hurt. If they miscut and actually cut a petal off, don’t worry about it, since you are going to be gluing the two petals together.

the poinsettia pieces

Depending on the craft project you want to make with the poinsettia, you could also just keep the miscuts for filler, and have them cut another piece.

Have the children lay the petals on top of each other to see the shape.

poinsettia

crease the petals

The poinsettia has a flower shape, but doesn’t really look like a flower yet. To give the flower a 3-D effect, have the child crease each petal section. They can fold over the petal one at a time, or fold the flower down the center and crease the two petals. I found folding the piece in half is easier to do and less likely to tear the paper.

Have the children put a petal down, so that the crease is like a tent. Put on a dot of white glue or let then use a glue stick in the center. Then they should take the second flower

put a dot of glue on the bottom petal center

petal and press it onto the glue, with the crease in that petal making a tent as well. Let dry - the glue stick will set almost immediately.

put a dab on paint on a scrap of paper and use the end of a pencil eraser to put dots in the center of the flower

When the glue has dried on the flower petals, it is time for the children put a center on their poinsettia. Drop a bit of paint on to a scrap of paper for each child. You can use yellow, or even gold or green paint, depending what you have on hand. Then tell them to take the pencil with an eraser on it, stick it in the paint, and dot the center of the flower.

a completed poinsettia

The Finished Product

This poinsettia makes a cheerful front for a holiday card made by the child. If you have them make a dozen more, you can cut out a wreath shape from cardboard and make a poinsettia wreath. Use the same general shape for the leaf as a single flower petal - poinsettia flowers are actually brightly colored leaves and not a true flower.

Have children place flowers onto the wreath shape and then fill in the areas between with the leaves. You can let them use a glue stick or use white glue to attach them.

A festive and personalized door decoration can be made by letting each child make another poinsettia, and instead of dotting the center with paint, have each child put a small photo of themself in the center. The photo in the poinsettia also works well on a handmade holiday card.

References

  • Poinsettia petal pattern © Rebecca Scudder CC - BY - SA via Bright Hub

    Feel free to reproduce and share this pattern as long as you attribute the template

  • Craft designed and made by author