Dandelions are EVERYWHERE at the moment and kids sure do give you a new appreciation for them.

We love spotting their sunny, yellow heads when we're out and about, or picking the dandelion clocks (dried ones) to blow off the seeds.

Today I set up this simple activity and it only took 5 minutes. We played out the front of our house but it'd also be a great activity for a nature walk (without the scissors of course).
🦁 cut a circle out of old cardboard and draw a face
🦁 poke holes around the edge with a skewer
🦁 find some kids scissors

SKILLS:
✂️ My kids are always excited to use scissors on something that isn't paper, and scissor skills take a while to develop. They both loved the challenge of getting the scissors at a good angle to cut the stems.

🌼 Poking stems into holes was great for hand-eye coordination. My 2 year old found it quite challenging and it really held her attention.

💬 Activities that spark imagination and interest are always great for language development. By joining in, adults can model new language and concepts with this activity. Ideas:
Petals, stem, leaves, roots, seeds, lion, mane, fierce, friendly, pretty, push, through, cut, snip, yellow, circle, bees, nectar, honey, scent, smell, blow, pick, pull.

Remember: if your little one isn't using these words in their vocabulary yet then the best thing you can do is model them (say them) over and over again during play such as this. Language is best learned in-context. That means children are more likely to learn the word 'stem' when you're showing them a stem or they're playing with a stem in the moment. Play and language development go hand in hand.

Save this as a go-to summer activity these holidays.
🌼🦁🌼🦁🌼🦁🌼

Watch the full reel here