Valentine’s Day: Pom Pom Flowers

A kid-made, long lasting bouquet!

Materials

• Wrapped floral wire or thin pieces of dowel or bamboo skewers with the point cut off.
• Yarn (a few colours)
• Cardboard
• Scissors
• Tape

Directions

• There are many innovative ways to make pom-poms.  This one is easy for young children.  Have an adult cut out a rectangle of cardboard.  (Your child might be able to do this, however, cutting cardboard tends to be a bit tricky and may require large scissors.) Cut a smaller rectangle out of one of the sides (as seen in the photograph).

• Tape one end of your yarn to the cardboard as shown.  Wrap your yarn around the cardboard.  The more you wrap, the fuller your pom-pom will be.

• Cut a small piece of yarn (we used another colour just so you could see it more clearly).  Put it under your wrapped yarn through the small rectangular window (as seen in the photograph) and knot it securely.

• Gently slide your wrapped yarn off your cardboard.  Trim the ends of the loops with your fabric scissors, making them uniform.

• Repeat for the number of blooms you would like in your bouquet.

• Insert the wire into the centre.  (You may want to put a bit of fabric glue on the end of the wire, depending how tightly wound your pom poms are.)

• Give these beauties to a friend!

Purpose

• Creating opportunities for developing fine motor skills (wrapping, tying etc.)

Safety Notes

• Yarn or similar materials can be a strangulation hazard, therefore it is not a toy and should be used withe direct adult supervision.
• Wire can be sharp.  Exercise care when using it.