I have some facts about wildflowers and a fun felt Texas bluebonnet craft. You’ll also love my Wildflowers Unit Study.
Spring is very nearly here; can you feel it?
It is officially just a few days away and already things are blooming, birds are nesting, days are getting longer, and spring fever is taking hold.
One of my favorite things about spring is the beautiful abundance of wildflowers.
You can find them alongside streams, on hillsides, at the edge of the forest, and even on the side of the road.
Spring is the perfect time to learn many fun facts about wildflowers, investigate their uses and benefits to their ecosystems, learn state flowers, and more.
Today we are going to learn some of those facts and create beautiful felt Texas Bluebonnets which is the state flower for Texas.
This project is easy, pretty inexpensive and free if you have these basic supplies on hand.
It makes adorable addition to your spring decor.
They would also be a great craft to go along with a unit study about Texas.
10 Wonderful And Fun Facts About Wildflowers
- Wildflowers are important because they support ecosystems and pollinators which is good for us and our food supply.
- Texas Bluebonnets are the official state flower of Texas.
- Wildflowers have several different meanings like happiness, joy, and remembrance.
- A wildflower is called that because it is a flower that grows in the wild, and it was not intentionally seeded or planted.
- A group of wildflowers is called a bloom. A super bloom is a rare desert botanical phenomenon where an unusually high amount of wildflowers whose seeds have lain dormant in desert soil blossom at about the same time.
- Bluebonnets are typically (obviously) blue but occasionally you’ll come across them in light blue, white or pink, due to genetic mutations.
- The name dandelion comes from the French- dent de lion (tooth of the lion ) for its jagged toothed shaped leaves. A coffee substitute can be made from the roasted and ground roots of dandelions.
- Many wildflowers, from the petals to the roots, are used for medicines, tinctures, salves, teas, and beauty products.
- Most wildflowers contain 4 basic parts – sepals, petals, pistils, and stamens.
- The two most common wildflowers are the common sunflower, Helianthus annuus, and the Black-eyed Susan, Rudbeckia hirta).
Next, add some of these books for your wildflower unit study.
10 Wildflower Books & Resources For Kids Who Love to Read and Be Read To
Spring is especially a good time to learn about wildflowers but you can learn about them anytime. Add a few of these hands-on resources and books and you'll have a fun multiple ages unit study for your homeschooled kids.
Botanicum, is a brilliantly curated guide to plant life. With artwork from Katie Scott of Animalium fame, Botanicum gives readers the experience of a fascinating exhibition from the pages of a beautiful book. From perennials to bulbs to tropical exotica, Botanicum is a wonderful feast of botanical knowledge complete with superb cross sections of how plants work.
With this basic beginner's field guide to North American wildflowers, all who enjoy nature and the outdoors can identify common wildflowers, from backyard weeds to dainty forest blossoms. In a logical, user-friendly, highly visual format, this new title offers key facts about 160 of the most common wildflowers and weeds, coast to coast, including Canada and Alaska.
Unlike many kids games 4 and up that turn out to be too confusing for children, Wildcraft! An Herbal Adventure Game, is a fun, strategic challenge that’s also easy to follow– NO READING REQUIRED. Because our learning board games feature clear illustrations and matching icons, even younger kids will learn what the different plants look like and can be used for. It’s the perfect fun game for family game night with kids, and ideal for beginners – no prior plant knowledge necessary!
Wide Variety Of Flower Seeds: Our wildflower seeds will provide you with a vibrant selection of flowers in your garden. You will get 21 different varieties of annual seeds including Black Eyed Susans, California Bluebells, African Daisies and more.
Do you know which flower got its name from its resemblance to the sombrero? What is the species of the bluebonnet? Lot of facts about North American wildflowers in this game.
An introduction to the world of insects, caterpillars, and butterflies including identification information, educational activities, and fun facts.Invites young naturalists to spot wildlife. Safety tips are provided and interesting activities are suggested.
What do you call a garden filled with lots of flowers? A polli-nation! Nat Geo Kids is back with the newest fact- and photo-filled Ultimate Explorer Field Guide, and this one packs some real flower power! This guide to wildflowers will make kids stop and look for all kinds of blossoms blooming right under their noses. From buttercups to bladderworts, primroses to pitcher plants, kids will learn how, where, and when to spot these wildflowers in their backyard, down the street, or all over town! Jam-packed with tons of info, interactive prompts, tips for budding botanists, super stats, and jokes--it's the perfect companion for exploring the backyard or field trips, camping, or vacation. Durable and portable, it's just right for your pocket or backpack!
Did you know that wild plants are still used for food, for medicines, and as dyes? Many of the plants growing in urban areas, in woods and by the side of roads are useful as well as being pretty. Other plants have small and less obvious how many have you seen and not realized that they were flowers? This book will show you the most common wild flowers and where you are most likely to find them. A nature guide designed for elementary grades 2-3, the book includes more than 20 easy-to-do science projects.
In this warm, engaging look at the life of a great First Lady, Kathi Appelt tells the story behind Lady Bird Johnson's environmental vision. Joy Fisher Hein's colorful wildflowers burst from every page, inviting us to share in Lady Bird's love for natural beauty.
From a lonely childhood in the Piney Woods of East Texas to an exciting life in the White House, Lady Bird Johnson loved wildflowers with all her heart. They were her companions in her youth, greeting her everywhere as she explored wild forests, bayous, and hills.
Published in association with the Smithsonian Institution. What does it take to paint a wildflower that blooms for a single day in a deep forest? For Mary Vaux Walcott, it involved spending up to seventeen hours a day out of doors with her paintbox to capture the shape, movement, and colors of delicate petals and leaves.
Hands on Ideas for Facts About Wildflowers
- Be sure to grab my Free Wildflowers Unit Study and Lapbook.
- Learn How to Make Wildflower Seed Bombs
- Learn How to Easily Make a Simple and Fun Kids DIY Flower Press
- Younger children will love this Nature Walk Cardboard Vase Activity for collecting wildflowers as they find them.
- Plant a massive bed of wildflowers and learn about them in your own backyard.
- Hands-On Mixed Media Flower Art Fun Nature Study
Then, add a fun felt wildflower like a Texas Bluebonnet to your list of activities.
You probably have most of these items at your house already.
How to Make a Texas Bluebonnet Wildflower Craft
You will need:
- White craft felt
- Blue craft felt
- Hot glue gun/Glue sticks
- Wooden Skewers
- Green markers/paint
- Scissors
Directions:
Paint or color skewers green and set aside to dry.
You could also use craft sticks or even pick skinny sticks out of the yard to use.
Cut the white felt on the short end into approximately 1” strips and cut the blue felt into 1 ¼” to 1 ½” strips.
Fold the white in half lengthwise and cut notches every ⅛” to ¼” from the fold to almost the edge but not quite cutting through.
Add a bit of hot glue to the end of your green colored skewer and begin wrapping the folded white felt around the tip, maybe 3 or 4 times moving down as you go.
We used about 3” of the white piece and cut the rest off for another bluebonnet.
Secure the end with hot glue.
Fold the long length of blue in half lengthwise and repeat the process of cutting lines from the fold to the other side but not quite all the way across.
Slightly overlap the white and wrap the blue (still folded in half) around the stem continuing down adding hot glue to secure every so often. Be sure to pull and twist tightly as you go.
Repeat for as many flowers as you wish to make.
For each flower we used a 3” piece of white felt strip and the entire blue strip.
Happy Spring!
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