“The Tiny Seed” Flower Art

We love, love, love Eric Carle’s iconic art style, and every Spring we make “The Tiny Seed” flower art. If you’re looking for an adorable Spring preschool process art project, you’ve come to the right place.

Table of Contents:

1. Celebrate Eric Carle with “The Tiny Seed” flower art
2. Once you start making “The Tiny Seed” flower art, it’s hard to stop
3. Materials
4. How to make “The Tiny Seed” art
5. What is the main idea of “The Tiny Seed?”
6. What do kids learn when they make Eric Carle’s “The Tiny Seed” flower art?
7. Frequently Asked Questions

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Celebrate Eric Carle with “The Tiny Seed” flower art

Eric Carle is one of the most recognized, celebrated, and brilliant children’s authors and illustrators of all time.

His art is iconic.

The art you have seen in some of his most famous children’s books were created by the technique of collage. He painted tissue papers with beautiful colors and patterns, cut up the pieces, and assembled his images.

We love him so much that we have made Eric Carle-inspired collages with our preschool students for years.

Collage is a multi-step process, and when we want to do something quicker but still feel Eric Carle-ish, smoosh paintings are the way to go!

✨ Check out our ultimate collection of the best process art projects for kids!

Once you start making “The Tiny Seed” flower art, it’s hard to stop

Despite having done this project many, many (many) times, it’s hard to stop once you get started.

For instance, I only needed one sample on this day, but I made six.

I found that I was asking myself:

“What would happen if I added more yellow?”

“Can I swirl the cup to move the colors?”

“How can I add extra colors to each petal?”

There are tremendous layers of fun and exploration that connect with this project!

🌼 Looking for more flower fun? Try some of these favorites:

• Spring Play Dough Flowers
• Spring Garden Insta-Snow Sensory Bin
• Spring Flower Sensory Table
• Button Flowers

Materials

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• Paint
• Paintbrushes
• “The Tiny Seed”
• White paper
• Plates
• Flat-bottomed cup or bowl

How to make “The Tiny Seed” art

First, add paint to your plate, swirling your colors to mix them.

Next, paint a large yellow circle in the center of the paper.

Last, invite your child to dip the flat bottom of a cup or bowl into the paint and then around the edge of the yellow circle for flower petals.

💡 Teacher Tip: If you make multiple flowers, you can keep adding more paint to the same plate because you want the plate to be full of color.

What is the main idea of “The Tiny Seed?”

Children experience a gorgeous illustration of the flower life cycle in this Eric Carle classic.

The book begins in Autumn with several seeds flying through the air, each traveling to different places.

Through Winter and Spring, the seeds travel and grow.

In Spring, the snow melts, and the seeds turn into seedlings.

As the seedlings grow into flowers, children observe how they transform and change.

The book ends back in Autumn with seeds leaving the flower and flying through the air, repeating the flower cycle.

What do kids learn when they make Eric Carle’s “The Tiny Seed” flower art?

When kids are making these stunning flowers, they are:

• Exploring color mixing
• Learning about shapes (lots of circles!)
• Hearing new literacy
• Practicing creativity + making process art
• Using fine-motor skills

This art project is actually an art-and-science-and-math-and-literacy-and-motor activity. 😉

Frequently Asked Questions