Gardening Activities

Overview of Activities

• 3D Fruit
• Bird Feeder
• Caterpillar Chain
• Egg Carton Flowers
• Garden Vegetable Painting
• Greenhouse in a Bag
• Ladybug Crown
• Pass the Pinecone
• Planting Seeds
• Worm Tag

3D Fruit
 
Materials

• Construction Paper
• Scissors
• Tape
• Crayons
• Markers
• Glue/Stapler

Directions

• Fold the piece of construction paper in half and draw half a shape of a fruit along the fold
• Cut out the fruit 
• Repeat the first two steps twice- you should now have three identical fruit pieces
• For cored fruit (example is an apple)
• Cut out semicircle in middle
• Decorate the fruit so it appears to be a cut slice
• For hollowed-out fruit (strawberry)
• Cut out hole in center of one fruit
• Fold that one fruit in half
• Cut twice on the curve, top and bottom, but stopping before you reach the hole in the center
• For both types of fruit, on the other two pieces, fold in half and cut halfway through
• Insert the slices 
• You have your fruit!
• If you want a solid fruit (watermelon)
• On one piece, cut halfway through the fold line from the bottom,
• On the other two pieces, cut halfway through the fold line from the top
• Slip slits inside each other, making one 3D fruit
• You have your fruit!

Link: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/plants/fruit/


Bird Feeder
 
Materials

• Toilet Paper Roll
• Peanut Butter
• Bird Seed
• Spoon
• Hole Punch
• String

Directions

• On the toilet paper roll, punch two holes across from each other on the top
• Tie a string through the holes and tie up so you have something to hang it by it (optional)
• Cover the paper towel roll in peanut butter (spread it out thick!)
• Roll it around in the seeds
• You can either hang it or put it on a branch of a tree

Link: http://thehomeschoolscientist.com/easy-to-make-bird-feeders/#.U6HWeNEg-P8

 
Caterpillar Chain
 
Materials

• Paper
• Scissors
• Pipe cleaners
• Tape 

Directions

• Cut out strips of colored paper
• Wrap a strip together to form a circle and tape
• Loop the next strip through the previous and tape
• Continue until you have your desired lenghth
• Draw eyes and tape pipe cleaners as antennas on the first part of the chain to make the caterpillar's face

Carton Flowers

Materials

• Egg Carton
• Construction Paper or thin cardboard
• Paint
• Paint Brushes

Directions

• Cut one of the cups from an egg carton
• Paint the cup on the outside and a different color on the inside
• Draw a flower stem on the paper where on the ends are pointed
• Make a small little hole in the bottom of the egg carton cup
• Stick the pointed end of the stem into the hole until it is firmly in place

Garden Vegetable Painting
 
Materials

• Assorted Vegetables
• Paint
• Knife
• Paper 

Directions

• Cut vegetables in half
• Let children place cut vegetables in paint and then use them as a stamp by stamping the vegetables onto the paper

Link: http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/2012/07/garden-vegetable-printing.html


Greenhouse in a Bag
 
Materials

• Small plastic zip bag
• 3 wet cotton balls
• 2-3 large seeds (beans are best)
• Clear tape

Directions

• Place wet cotton balls in the zip bag with the seeds placed against them
• Seal the zip bag and tape it to a window where it will receive plenty of sunlight and your should begin to sprout in 3-5 days
• When the seed grows at least 1 inch you can plant it in a cup of soil

Link: http://www.koolkidscrafts.com/make-a-pinwheel.html
 
 
Ladybug Crown

Materials

• Red construction paper
• White paper
• 2 pipe cleaners
• Scissors
• Tape
• Black markers

Directions

• Cut four hearts from white or red paper
• Cut 2 or 3 strips of red construction paper about 4 inches wide
• Tape pieces to end to create a long piece
• Wrap around the child’s head to see how long it needs to be and cut off the extra
• Either draw circles on paper and color them in black or cut out of black construction paper circles
• Attach circles to red construction paper
• Wrap pipe cleaner around a pencil to make a spring—do this for two pipe cleaners
• Tape hearts onto the top of the pipe cleaners (one on each side)
• Tape both pipe cleaners to the long piece of construction paper so they are either in the front or on the sides
• Tape the construction paper ends together to form a crown and put it on!

Link: http://www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/insects/mladybughat.htm


 Pass the Pine Cone

Materials

• Radio
• CD
• Pinecone

Directions

• Like hot potato, children pass the pine cone around and when the music stops the person holding the pine cone is out
• Continues until one person is left and is the winner

 
Planting Seeds

Materials

• Cup
• Spoon
• Seeds
• Water
• Soil

Directions

• Place dirt into the cup, filling it halfway
• Place the seed into the cut
• Cover the seed with the soil
• Water every day and as plant grows, it may need to be placed in a bigger container

Worm Tag
 

Materials

• At least 4 players

Directions

• One person is it
• Children run around If they are tagged, they link up to the “it” person
• As more people are tagged they make a longer chain