oshc activities
Day of the Dead / Marigold Paper Flower Bunches

Marigold Paper Flower Bunches

Children make bright marigold flowers from layered orange and yellow paper, learning that marigolds, or cempasúchil, are used in Mexico to decorate and welcome the memory of loved ones.

How to run it

  1. Share that in Mexico families fill homes and streets with orange marigolds for Día de Muertos because their bright colour and scent are said to help guide and welcome the memory of loved ones.
  2. Have children flatten and stack five or six orange and yellow paper cupcake liners or tissue squares.
  3. Push a pipe cleaner through the centre, twist it underneath, then scrunch each layer upwards to make a fluffy flower.
  4. Bunch the flowers together or add them to a group garland.

You will need

  • orange and yellow paper cupcake liners or tissue paper
  • green pipe cleaners
  • scissors
  • ribbon or string
Make it easier or harderUse fewer, larger layers for younger children; older children can cut fringed tissue petals for a more realistic marigold.
SafetyBend over sharp pipe cleaner ends.
My Time Our Place · Outcome 2, Outcome 4Children learn about the meaning of flowers in a Mexican celebration while practising fine motor skills.

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