Each year, National Nurses Day is observed on May 6 and the day marks the beginning of National Nurses week. This is a day dedicated to raising awareness of the vital role nurses play and acknowledging their commitment and passion for people and their health. While we should be grateful for the nurses who care for us and our loved ones always, this is a special week dedicated to just that. On the last day of National Nurses Week, May 12, it is Florence Nightingale's birthday, an English nurse who is known as the founder of the nursing profession.
This year more than ever, as we are in the midst of a world health crisis due to COVID-19, nurses need our support and appreciation. They are continuously working and making a lifesaving difference in the lives of others each and every day.
To celebrate National Nurses Day this year, we wanted to make an appreciation flower bouquet as a way to thank these everyday heroes. Our bouquet was made from paper flowers and popsicle sticks with a sweet chocolate center. We used DOVE Promises Chocolates, which contain inspiring messages to live life fully and with no regrets.
According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, there are more than 3 million registered nurses in the United States. Chances are you know a nurse who would love to receive this gift of appreciation thanking them for their hard work.
This was a fun project to practice learning our colors as we held each flower up and the cutting and gluing of this craft is a great time to work on fine motor skills. We modeled how to use the glue and how to place each paper flower on the popsicle stick. Gluing the flowers required a little time to wait for drying, which is a good way to show little ones patience. Most importantly, it was a fun way to spend time together as well as snack on a few delicious chocolates!
These flower bouquets will be delivered this week and we hope they will make the nurses receiving them smile and feel our gratitude for them.
National Nurses Day Appreciation Gift - What You'll Need
- Construction Paper (varied colors). We used the one linked here.
- Popsicle sticks (The ones linked here are great for this activity and many other crafts)
- Small Chocolates (Dove Promises Chocolates)
- Glue
- Paint
- Double sided tape
- Scissors
- Shredded Paper (We used this one)
- Can or container to use as a vase
- Thank you note (You can download and use our Thank You Card here)
Paint your popsicle sticks which will act as the stems for your flowers and let them dry. We used 3 shades of green but you may use any color you'd like. While your popsicle sticks are drying you can begin to cut the construction paper to make the flowers and a few leaves for each stick. You may cut these using your own creativity to make the flowers or use a Cricut, if you have one. We used construction paper to make the flowers but you can also use cardstock, which will be a bit more sturdy. Be sure to cut at least 2 different sizes so you can layer the flowers and add dimension. Once the popsicle sticks are dry you can begin gluing the flowers to the popsicle sticks and layer the flowers. We did three flowers in each vase, so you will need 3 larger flowers and 3 smaller ones. Next, we glued the chocolates as the center of each flower (Please note we did go back and use double sided tape to reinforce the chocolates that did not glue well because of the wrapper). We also enjoyed eating a few of these as we worked on our flowers. Glue one leaf on each popsicle stick. For our vases we used empty cans of evaporated and condensed milk. Once the contents of the can have been used and they are empty, be sure that the lids have been removed fully with a can opener. Wash the cans well using dish soap and water and allow them to fully dry. Once they are dry, you may put together your arrangement. Fill the cans with the shredded paper and arrange the flowers in the can.
Have fun and share with us! #LOCreativeCircle #mylittleowly
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ADORABLE!