Hi ya’ll!
A DIY Clothespin Counting Flower is a great way to incorporate creative learning into your child’s daily playtime! You could also easily turn this into a craft for your child, which will help strengthen their fine motor skills.
Math isn’t usually a kid favorite, so by turning it into a game (or craft) they become more interested and willing to learn. You can find more tips on “fun with numbers” in my post, Preparing Your Child For Kindergarten. As well as other creative learning techniques. But for now let’s focus on this cute DIY clothespin counting flower!
what you need:
Materials
- Cardboard.
- Large Popsicle Stick.
- 10 Wood Clothespins.
- Paint.
- Permanet Marker.
- Paint Marker.
Tools
- Scissors.
- Hot Glue Gun.
- 1 cup Measuring Cup. (For tracing.)
How to make a diy clothespin counting flower
Step 1:
First you will need to place the measuring cup on a piece of cardboard and trace it. I like using the measuring cup because it will give you a perfect circle for your flower “center”. (Because if you are anything like me, free styling it will end in an odd shaped oval instead of a circle.) As for the cardboard- simply reuse that Amazon box! (If you prefer to shop online then you probably have a nice stock pile, so why not get some use out of it!)
Step 2:
Secondly, you will need to paint the circle. Feel free to go bold or even use your child’s favorite color! I went with a light blue/ aqua because it’s not what my daughter calls a “boy color”. Plus, my boys don’t see it as a “girl color”. So everyone is happy! (hehe) However, I did let my daughter pick the color for the “petals” in step 4, and she went girly of course.
Step 3:
Thirdly, paint the large popsicle stick.
Then, once the circle and the popsicle stick are dry, use the hot glue gun and attach the circle to the popsicle stick.
DIY CLOTHESPIN COUNTING FLOWER- The fine details
Step 4:
In this step you will need to decide on a color for the “flower petals”. I made my flower have 10 petals but you can easily add more or create less, depending on your child’s learning needs.
Once you decide on a color, paint one side of every wood clothespin.
Step 5:
While the clothespins are drying you can number the flower center. I did 5 numbers on each side of the stick to make it more symmetrical.
Step 6:
In this last step we will create the “flower”!
First, you will need to number the clothespins.
Then, if you would like to jazz it up a bit, use a paint marker and add dots to the flower “center”.
You can also cut small leaves from the leftover cardboard, paint them green, and hot glue them to the stick.
Lastly, add the numbered clothespins to the correct numbers on the flower center.
And there you have it! A fun way to learn to count, recognize numbers, and even learn some addition and subtraction! I hope your kiddos enjoy it!
For more counting fun, try my DIY Fishing Game!