My Garden Mural

This art project was inspired by My Garden by Kevin Henkes. To learn more about the book and to see all our My Garden activities, click here.

 

What wonders would your young reader’s imagination grow in he or she tended to a garden of garden of his or her own? Encourage a lively discussion exploring all the possibilities, then turn those musings into a garden mural. Raid the art shelves for an abundance of supplies to make the mural a true mixed media masterpiece.

 

Let your child’s imagination go to work transferring all the wonders from your discussion into a visual masterpiece. Our example shows a puppy bush, pizza flowers, cupcake shrubs, cookie flowers, and toys growing right out of the ground. Nothing is impossible when the imagination is in charge!

 

Sock flowers require little care, and lions keep pests away.

Harvesting Cookie Hollyhocks and Cupcake Daffodils often will engourage new growth...Yum!

Perhaps a pizza flower and a muffin bush?

What garden would be complete without a pup shrub and a pizza-flowering bush?

My Garden Mural

What You Will Need

• Large roll of paper or several sheets of construction paper taped together. In our example there are 4 sheets of 16 x 12 taped together on the back.
• Magazine and catalogue pictures: have young readers peruse magazines and catalogues for things that they would like to grow in their garden. You could also include stickers, or actual items such as popcorn for a popcorn bush!
• Various mural making supplies – paint, markers, crayons, glue, cotton balls, glitter, tissue paper, etc.

How To Do It

1. Paint green stems and bushes and let dry. 
2. Glue cut-out items atop stems or on bushes. 
3. After glue has dried, use paint, markers, crayons, etc. to add any desired details. Maybe cotton ball clouds? A yellow and orange marker sun?

 

Why We Like It

• Encourages creativity and imagination
• Allows exploration of artistic processes such as painting, drawing and collage
• Improves fine motor skills
•  Encourages development of communication skills and critical thinking skills

Related Posts: Magnificent Hats Collage Mural, inspired by Jan Brett's The Hat.