Cactus Crafts and Activities

Cactus Crafts, Cactus Learning Activities and Cactus Games for Education

 

 

What you will need:

Thick Craft Foam

Paper

Scissors

Large Lids or Blocks

Glue

Paint and Paintbrushes

Paper Plates

Markers and Colored Pencils

 

What to do:

1. Before class, print out the cactus parts patterns and use them as templates to cut the shapes from the craft foam.

Free Cactus Parts Pattern -

2. Glue the craft foam cactus shapes onto lids or blocks to make stamps.

3. In class, squirt paint onto paper plates and use a paintbrush to spread it out.

4. Have your children dip the cactus stamps into the paint and then stamp them onto pieces of paper.

5. Use the flower shapes on the top of the cactus.

6. When the paint is dry, the children can use markers and colored paper to add more detail to their paintings.

 

 

What you will need:

Flat River Rocks in Different Sizes with Flat Areas on the Sides

Green Paint and Paintbrush

Large Lids

Moist Sand

Dice

 

What to do:

1. To prepare, paint the river rocks green on both sides, and add white spots.

2. Place moist sand in the lids.

3. To play, place all the rocks in a middle of a table. Give each player a lid filled with sand.

4. Children take turns rolling the dice. The player with the highest number gets to pick a rock first. The second highest picks second. If there is a tie, the players that tied, throw the dice again to determine who has the higher number.

5. Children take turns rolling the dice again to pick another rock. On the word "go", children should place their larger rock in the sand so that it stands up. They should then try to balance the smaller rock on top of the larger rock, side to side. The top rock should not be balancing on the flat side of the rock. It should look like a prickly pear cactus.

6. After two minutes, if no one has balanced their rock, players must pass one of their rocks to the left.

7. Keep playing until someone has balanced their rock.

 

 

What you will need:

Paper

Cactus-shaped Leaves

Colored Pencils and Markers

White Glue

 

What to do:

1. Show your children pictures of prickly pear cactus. Ask them to describe the shape of the stems, flowers, and fruit. Ask them if the smaller stems are on the bottom of the plant or the top. Do the stems have lots of spines or just a few? Are the spines in clusters (areole) or single?

2. Give your students pieces of paper and pencils and have them draw the different shapes of the stems and fruit.

3. Take your students outside and have them collect leaves from green plants that have basically the same shape as the cactus stems.

4. In the classroom, give your students another sheet of paper and have them glue the leaves onto the paper to form a prickly pear cactus.

5. When they are finished, have them draw in details to make a desert scene. Tell them to add things that they would see in the desert.

 

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