April Showers Bring Crafty Flowers: DIY Springtime Classroom Projects

6 creative ways that will brighten up your classroom

1. Spring Banner

What better way to announce your own excitement for spring then to post a fun banner in your room. This is something you can post in the hallway, on your door or on one of your walls as a focal point to celebrate that spring is finally here. This is also something you can extend to the other seasons by simply cutting out the season name and using other die-cuts that symbolize that season such as snowflakes for winter or suns for summer. To create this banner you will start by using your MARK 5 Die Cutting Machine. You will also need the Butterfly #8 Die Cut, the Flowers #23 Die Cut as well as an alphabet set. The one shown is the Apricot Alphabet - 4" Die Cut Set. You will need to buy some spring inspired cardstock as well as some pastel colored cardstock for the letters. Cut out the letters and the flowers using the colors that inspire you the most. Add the letters on top or the patterned cardstock and use a hole punch and twine to string the letters along. This is something you can use year after year that will also bring a smile to your face when you get to bring it out for the class. 

2. Grow Posters

This is a project that will get all of your students pumped to participate. Teaching about spring is synonymous with teaching about growth. In my class we spend this season discussing and exploring the growth of plants and animals while also sharing the growth we see in each other. This activity is a great way to combine these two thoughts. There are several ways you can go about this project but you will need to start by getting out the MARK 5 Die Cutting Machine. You also get to use the Butterfly #8 Die Cut you used for the Spring banner. You can add more elements by using dies like the Flowers #3-Itty-Bitty Die Cut or the Birds & Bugs Die Cut. You will need poster paper to put it on and you can embellish the designs with buttons, gems or stickers. You can have students write the word "grow” or you could use any 1” alphabet sets you have. Give students time to decorate their poster in whatever way they want to. The beauty of this project is that it gives scholars a chance to really express themselves and how they view spring. Then to connect this back to their own growth you can have them add a picture of themselves or have them write down ways they have grown this school year either on the front or back of the poster. Another way you could do this is have students write a personal essay about their growth and you can attach the essay to the bottom of the poster. These are all ways to connect a visual of growth with the extension of looking inward and sharing their own growth in a reflective way.

3. We Are Raining Brilliance

This is a doorway hanger that does more than decorate your entrance it also gives kids a chance to share and reflect on things they are proud of in themselves. This is also something you can expand on throughout the whole season. We all know the saying, “April Showers bring May Flowers,” it is a fun and catchy way to highlight the fact that we can experience a lot of rain in the spring. As always you will need your MARK 5 Die Cutting Machine so you are able to cut out the Raindrop Die Cut. You will need blue cardstock and twine or string. Start each string of rain by having your students take a raindrop and write down something they are proud of or have accomplished at school recently. You can then string those drops together and place them on your door. Then keep out a bin of drops for students to add to the string as they do new things that show success in school.  

4. Flower Baskets

This is an exciting way to give students the chance to make something for themselves, a parent or a teacher as a way to say thank you. Each kid can make one of these baskets and they can use them to give a small gift or note for things like Mother’s Day or teachers appreciation. They could also use this as something for themselves to put in special awards, cards or work they are proud of. You will use the MARK 5 Die Cutting Machine and the Box Tag Die Cut as well as the Flower Garden-Layering Die Cut. You will need to have strong paper to use to make the box itself and you can use any paper of choice to make the flowers that will decorate the front. You can also utilize some stones or gems or even some decorative rocks to glue to the center of the flower. Students will love folding and creating these boxes. You can also make a few extra yourself to pass out as gifts to your coworkers or administrators throughout the rest of the school year. 

5. Butterfly Jars

These are another great way to give gifts to students, colleagues or administrators. Any time you have a little gift to pass out, these adorable jars are a great way to hold the gift. This is also something students can make to share with their families some of their learning with their families. You will start with your MARK 5 Die Cutting Machine to cut out your Butterfly #6 Die Cut. You will also need to have small mason jars. You can also attach these to larger jars if that better serves the purpose of your project. Add some candy or a little treat to pass out. Have students put in some small strips of paper that they have written messages of thankfulness for their families. This is also a great way to share with students strengths you see in them. I like to pass these out on each scholar's birthday and I write a short birthday message and give them a few stickers inside the jar. You can go a step further and add ribbon to the outside as well.

6. Spring Has Sprung Decorative Cards 

This last activity is another opportunity to combine creativity with writing. These cards can be used in a variety of ways. If you happen to teach upper elementary you know testing season is just around the corner and you can have students make one of these cards, they can then take it home to their parents and the can write an encouraging message for their child to bring with them on testing day to read to help them feel confident and ready to take their assessments. Teachers could also use these cards to write a kind message to a classmate, a teacher or another helpful adult in the school. The ways you can use these are really endless and students will love the chance to design and create these adorable cards. Start by using your MARK 5 Die Cutting Machine to cut our a variety of colored cardstock pages using the  A2 Card-Scalloped #3 Die Cuts. Next, you will need to also cut out Flowers #21 Die Cut. You can also use Frames #2 Die Cut or the Birds #1 Die Cut if you want to add some more detail to your cards. Then you really just allow kids to get creative when they make their cards. This is such a nice way to encourage students to take time and write kind and uplifting notes to others.

I hope you are inspired by some of these ideas enough to try them out in your own classroom. I know that when I am creating I am able to really regain some energy and excitement in my teaching and when scholars are given opportunities to create they are rejuvenated and ready to build new skills in the classroom.

Written by Amy Pinegar.