Mossy Children's Botanical Craft
One of my favorite children's authors and illustrators is Jan Brett, known for her richly detailed and beautifully crafted children's storybooks. Her works often draw on themes of nature, folklore, and cultural traditions, bringing stories to life with intricate illustrations that captivate even the youngest of readers. Since our children were very young, we've been collecting her storybooks. After first reading Mossy, I had the idea of turning this sweet tale into a craft best suited for children ages two to six.
Gather the following supplies:
- Mossy storybook by Jan Brett
- Printed copies of the Mossy template
- crayons or markers
- glue
- moss and lichen (fresh or preserved)
- fresh botanicals (see recommended list below)
- optional accents such as feathers, small artificial butterflies, pollinators, and mushrooms
First, read Mossy. At the end of the story, ask the children what details they remember growing on Mossy's shell.
Download and distribute the Mossy template. Ask the children to color the turtle.
Then, distribute moss and glue to be added as the base layer, growing on the turtle's shell. Liquid glue is ideal for older children and glue sticks are recommended for the tiniest hands.
Next, distribute the botanicals and ask the children to choose their favorites to add to their Mossy. Encourage the children to use their imaginations when arranging their botanicals.
Lastly, offer accents such as feathers, artificial butterlies, caterpillars, bumble bees, ladybugs, and mushrooms.
This enchanting project not only fosters creativity but also introduces kids to the beauty and diversity of fresh flower, foliage and herbs.
I recommend the following fresh botanicals for young children:
- soft, velvety botanicals such as lamb's ear, spearmint, moss, sage
- fern leaves
- small foraged pine cones or empty shells*
- small pebbles and sticks
- fragrant botanicals such as mints, lemon balm, bee balm, chamomile
- interesting botanicals such as clematis centers (after the leaves have fallen and they turn brush-like)
- everlasting flowers such as strawflower and paper daisies
- pretty flowers that come in bright colors such as zinnia, daisy, aster, marigold, feverfew, cornflower (bachelor button)
- flowers with small blossoms such as feverfew, yarrow, chamomile, hydrangea**
Forego plants with thorns or bristles like rose, holly, and borage, plants that have sticky or gummy residues like certain varieties of eucalyptus, and botanicals that are toxic or are known to irritate the skin.
* Ensure there are no nut allergies before introducing empty nut shells. Ensure there are no living creatures remaining in snail or mollusk shells.
**Some botanicals, such as hydrangea, are toxic if ingested in larger amounts. Children should be carefully monitored by an adult when crafting with the following: foxglove, lily and lily of the valley, hyacinth, larkspur, hydrangea, daffodil, azalea, morning glory, English ivy. The good news is, most of these are bitter-tasting, so one taste and a child typically spits it out and loses interest in eating it.
