‘Thanks for helping me grow!’ Aaah is this this an adorable theme for Father’s Day? Especially any dad who loves to garden. So if the Dad you are getting creative for is a keen gardener.. read on and make this adorable Father’s Day Gift and a great alternative to the “traditional” Father’s Day Card! This is a wonderful guest post by Teach Investigate Play!
‘Thanks for helping me grow!’
Creating a craft for Father’s Day had me stumped for a while. My husband doesn’t really like cards and so myself and the children were trying to find a way to express our thanks without making him a card. One of the hobbies he’s really into is gardening, so in the end, we decided to go for a garden themed plant sculpture.
The ‘Thanks for helping me grow’ plant is a simple craft that could be made with a variety of ages. I always like to kid test what I share on my own feed and I’ve tried this with both my Mr 9 and Miss 3.
For Mr 9’s version, he did all of the cutting, gluing and construction himself. If you are doing this craft with younger children, please just be mindful that even low-temperature glue guns can get extremely hot. Either supervise closely or keep the gluing as an adult task!
Whilst Miss 3 loves a good scissor skills activity, the felt plant craft is currently above her capabilities. Instead she made a flower and leaves out of silk clay.
Please see below for instructions on both variations of the craft.
“Thanks for helping me grow” – Father’s Day Craft Materials needed
- Dark Green Felt
- Green Craft stick
- Green Chenille stick
- Green Construction paper
- Small biodegradable pot
- Silk clay / air dry clay or plasticine
- Green food colouring (optional)
- Craft Scissors
- Glue gun
- Glue stick
- Cardboard leaf template – one small, one large (you can also download the template on my website)
Here’s how to create our little ‘thanks for helping me grow’ plant in six easy steps:
Preparing the leaves
- To begin, cut approximately 4-6 large leaves out of felt using the large leaf template – you can draw this yourself or use the printable page (see link below).
- Repeat the process using the small leaf template to cut 4-6 leaves out of construction paper.
Writing your thankfulness messages
- Get your child to write 4-5 things they want to thank their dad or father figure for. We started ours with, ‘Dear Dad, thanks for…’*
- Glue the small leaves on top of the large leaves.
Assembling your Father’s Day craft
- Attach the leaves onto the craft stick or chenille stick with a glue gun, leaving enough space at the bottom of the pot to ‘plant’ your creation. You may also need a craft stick to secure the plant in place.
- Squish air dry clay or even plasticine into the bottom of a small biodegradable pot, then push your plant into it.
*If your child isn’t writing yet, like my Miss 3, you could try an alternative version of the craft:
- Cut leaf / flower shapes out of air-dry clay.
- Use stamps or beads for decoration.
- Push a craft stick into the bottom of the flower, then carry on with step 6 of the process!
If you want more, you can check out the following ideas over on my website:
- Building Memories with Dad bucket list printable
- At the Garden Centre dramatic play taster pack
- Thanks for helping me grow – printable
About Teach Investigate Play
Teach Investigate Play was created by primary teacher-turned blogger, Sian, after finding maternity leave a little isolating. She is passionate about making learning fun through creativity and play, regularly sharing ideas on Instagram, Facebook and her website, Sian lives in Vienna, Austria with her husband and three children.
More great ideas for kids on Father’s Day
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