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Week Five: Handy Plants
Hello again, Green Hour visitors! Today I’d like to share a “handy” and creative way to get your kids engaged in flower and seed exploration. This activity will stimulate wonder and an appreciation for nature.
Summertime is an excellent time to take your little sprouts out and about for a seed search. Seeds have amazing ways of traveling, from floating through the air (think dandelions) to stowing away on a squirrel’s tail. It’s important for some seeds to travel away from the plants that they came from in order to find a spot of soil all their own.
Gather some stow-away seeds yourself!
- Get an old, itchy sock (the kind no one likes to wear or that’s missing a mate) or a knit winter glove. Have your child place her hand inside the sock or glove. Then, take a walk together outdoors.
- Seek out grassy areas or flower patches that are past the blooming stage. Have your child gently run her hand over and through the grass and across the flower tops. Experiment with a variety of vegetation. Soon, you’ll have tagalong visitors (seeds!) clinging to the knitwear.
- Take the sock or glove home and place some soil inside of it. Or “plant” it in a flower pot with soil, placing the glove just a quarter inch from the soil’s surface or so. Place it near a sunny window and water it. Then wait to see what grows!
See you next week!
Check out all of Jennifer Ward’s outdoor activity ideas:
- Week One: Let’s Go Outside!
- Week Two: A “Bugly” Scavenger Hunt
- Week Three: Get Out and Grow Some Bubbles!
- Week Four: Bird Nest Discovery
Happy trails out in nature!
Jennifer Ward is the author of I Love Dirt! and numerous children’s books, all of which present nature to kids. She lives in Illinois. Learn more about her at www.jenniferwardbooks.com.