Gardening with my son

I just love when the weather gets warmer! Spring leading into summer is by far my favorite time of the year. My spirits lift immensely when the seemingly never-ending rains actually do, in fact, come to an end. It is hard to contain a smile when I turn my face up to the sky and I can feel the warmth of the sun's rays. Naturally, my inclination is to head outside; fortunately my favorite spot around this time of year lies just a few steps from my back door.

Gardening has always been a fun hobby for me. I, by no means, haven't gotten into it to the extent of some people I know. "Everyone is a backyard farmer" is a sentiment I have heard repeatedly about the residents of this town. I have to admit, it is pretty cool to see so much energy and attention to be given to the land. My backyard garden space has definitely gotten more expansive over the years. This year we put in 3 new raised beds as well as dug out sod in areas to directly plant more garden beds in the ground.
I know, for me, so much pleasure is derived from observing the fruition of my labor. Because of this, I think one of the most amazing gifts I can give my child is a love of gardening. I, too, remember having a little garden plot as a child that my grandfather helped me with, and it was magical time for me. I want to impart a similar rich memory for my son. And so, this year one of the raised beds we built is for his own garden alone.

First with my son by my side, providing input, I drew out a sketch of what we wanted plant and where they will be in the garden. The above drawing was a rough idea of how we wanted our garden — after some consideration, however, (like thinking about how tall each plant will grow, and the angle of the sun) I ended up redesigning it a little bit. We also added 2 rows of peas as well.
We chose to plant radishes, carrots, teddy bear sunflowers, rutabagas, sugar snap peas and corn.

Planting carrot seeds

Before we planted we raked the soil to make sure the surface was relatively even. Then I read the directions on the back of each seed packet, and we got to work. I carved a shallow furrow in the soil and Bode scattered seeds down each row. I let go of my need of having everything to be perfect and trusted him with a handful of seeds. A bunch of seeds spilled to the soil, but I patiently directed him how to space the seeds. We will be having to thin out the seedlings in a few weeks anyway, so no harm if a few seeds strayed elsewhere. I showed Bode how to use his finger as a means of measurement. The corn had to be planted an inch or 2 deep and his pointer finger was the perfect length for making the holes.

Covering the carrot seeds with soil and patting down

During our time planting, I talked to Bode about what seeds need in order to grow strong and healthy. I was pretty impressed when he jumped in and rattled off what they were: 1) sun 2) [nutrients from the] soil, and 3) water. I also taught him that the word germination means the point when the seeds sprout and start to grow.

I let Bode label some of markers with a Sharpee on a tongue depressor.

Watering the seeds with a gentle mist

Each day after planting the seeds, I had Bode gently water the bed, which he did with enthusiasm.

Each day we checked the bed, and were surprised that the radishes came up so quickly! (within 3 days!)

Carrots came up fairly quickly too!

It has been a month now since we planted the garden and the seedlings are growing tall. The two of us thinned out some of the seedlings so the plants don't get overcrowded. I also pointed out the weeds to him and had him pull them up. The care and enthusiasm he shows towards his garden makes me proud! First thing he does when a friend comes over for a playdate is he shows him "his" garden. It is pretty cool to watch. Soon the radishes will be ready to harvest. I can't wait!

Thanks for coming by and checking this out. Remember to "like" me on my Facebook Page if you want to stay informed of more kid craft ideas I post or find around the blogosphere!

Quick Butterfly Craft from magazine pages

I thought I would write a post on a very easy and simple butterfly craft you can do with your children. All you need are scissors, magazines, a pipe cleaner, and fishing line (optional). At the time of this writing a Butterfly Blog Hop just went live at Plain Vanilla Mom and I wanted to submit this tutorial. You all should hop on over there and see what other ideas people came up with pertaining to butterflies.

I like this project because:

1. Children of all ages love it  
2. It reuses magazines that might otherwise be tossed  
3. It requires minimal preparation.

Children under 5 may need one-on-one assistance in helping with the folding and the cutting.

First have the children choose 2 magazine pages to use. I encourage them to look for pages that are brightly colored, or that have an interesting repeating pattern.

On the Paper #1 (the bottom set of wings) fold the paper in half. With scissors cut the corners so they are nice and rounded.

On Paper #2 (the top set of wings) Fold a triangle down and cut bottom strip, so that when it is unfolded it is a square.

When the pages are unfolded they should look like this.

Take Paper #1 and make an accordian fold going all the way up to the top of the paper.

 On paper #2 turn the paper diagonal and fold as shown.

I like to fold the resulting folded papers in half so I know where the center point is on each.

This is so easy! I like to attach a short length of fishing line to the butterflies with a loop on the other end so that the kids can "fly" them on the playground. This craft is always a big hit!

Thanks for coming by and checking this out. Remember to "like" me on my Facebook Page if you want to stay informed of more kid craft ideas I post or find around the blogosphere!

Designing a Garden from pictures; and a gardening blog hop!

One of my favorite crafts to do with preschoolers this time of year is to have them design, on paper, their own garden plots. Children from 2 years up to 6 years of age enjoy this activity. The materials used are easily accessible — just construction paper, scissors, glue and pictures of garden plants are all that are needed. It is a great way to recycle garden catalogs (I use them for my Rainbow Collage images also, see the post here).

This craft is beneficial to children in that:

• it is an opportunity to practice and develop cutting skills
• it is an opportunity to practice and develop gluing skills
• it is an opportunity to categorize plant foods and to differentiate between fruits and vegetables

In addition, if the child will be planting in their own garden plot it will help them to have a clearer vision of what they would like to plant.

I did this project one-on-one with my son at home, as this year, he has his own "real" garden plot to fill. We had fun discussing what fruits, veggies, and flowers he would like in his garden. Of course the collage is more of an exercise to get him thinking about it, and design and choices are not set in stone!

First I had my son cut out all of the pictures of plants that he would like in his garden.  He is four years old, and I found that he at times needed help stabilizing the flimsy catalog paper, as well as reminders that the thumb on the cutting hand should be above the rest of his fingers. Younger children may require hand-over-hand positioning and cutting and verbal cues (open, close, open, close) as well as help in stabilizing the paper.

I then had my son apply glue to the paper. I told him that the brown paper represents the soil in his garden bed.

He then placed the pictures where he wants them. Easy "pea"sy!
Many of the plants that he glued on the paper we did in fact plant in his garden (corn, teddy bear sunflowers, and sugar snap peas).
A few days after he completed this collage we went to the nursery, and he had many of the plants that he viewed fresh in his mind. I believe this activity helped to mentally prepare him for the next step. I will be posting soon on how planting the seeds turned out!

Have fun and happy gardening!

If you like what you have seen on this blog and you want to stay informed of future posts I would love if you "liked" Mama's Little Muse Facebook Page here.

Check out the Gardening Blog Hop down below: the co-hosts are
www.momto2poshlildivas.com
http://www.kitchencounterchronicle.com
www.theeducatorsspinonit.blogspot.com
http://www.duckduckoctopus.com
http://livingmontessorinow.com
http://www.rainydaymum.co.uk
http://readysetread2me.blogspot.com
http://playfullearners.co.uk
http://craftymomsshare.blogspot.com/
http://glitteringmuffins.com

April Showers bring May Flowers: Springtime Tissue art

This adorable Springtime craft is the perfect activity to do with children as we enter April. Flower-shaped tissue paper glued down onto an umbrella shape represents the sentiment "April Showers bring May Flowers". I found this adorable activity via Crafty Crow. The post is from Everything except the Grill. I used it for inspiration, but like most things in life, I deviated from the original directions and did it slightly off kilter. :) I liked that this craft represented the quintessential Spring...with all its rain that inevitably brings the colorful flowers, in abundance. And believe me, we in Oregon, know the wet weather very well...in Springtime, and all throughout Winter too.

Materials we used:

• Paper plates cut into an umbrella shape
• tissue paper in all different colors, cut into flower shapes
• a paintbrush
• Sta-flo liquid starch

1. Have child cover the whole umbrella with liquid starch (with the paint brush).
2. Then have them cover the umbrella by pressing the flowers flat onto the plate. I have them do this one flower at a time. Encourage them to overlap the pieces.
3. Have the kids brush more liquid starch over the tissue paper flowers every once in a while to flatten it out.  
4. All done! Wait to dry and hang up!

 

Keeping with the theme of "Umbrellas" I found a treasure of a book from the library to read with my students alongside this craft.   The Yellow Umbrella, By Dong Il Sheen & Jae-Soo Liu, is a precious gem that is a must-have for any children's book collection.

 

A CD of beautiful piano music comes with the book, and is to be played along while the successive pages are turned. The book doesn't have words, rather it is through the music one can "hear" the story. The children at the preschool looked on in awe, as the pages were shown. It was lovely in an auditory way, as well as visual...beautiful paintings grace each page. I highly recommend this book!

If you liked this post and you want to stay informed of more kid activity ideas I post or find around the blogosphere, remember to "like" me on my Facebook Page! Thank you! Have a wonderful day!
Have fun, and thanks for visiting!

Ode to a Plum Tree

Two days ago was the first day of Spring. I had noticed the signs coming on for awhile. Crocuses and daffodils poking up from the thawing soil, with their flowery heads opening as if to say "hi"; drowsy bees stumbling out of their wintery sleep half-awake; and the plum trees — wow-the-plum-trees! — with their spectacular show of abundant pink blossoms lining our streets. How impossible it would be not to notice these harbingers of Spring!

So it was with quite dismay, but also with excitement and jubilance that we greeted Day #2 of Spring. When we awoke and looked out our windows all we could see was a thick! blanket of snow in every direction (an unusual occurrence at any time of year in our town, not to mention late March!). Schools were cancelled, snowmen were built, snowball fights were had, and hot cocoa sipped.

Now it is Day #3. Streets are clear of ice and snow. We went back to work & back to school, re-emerging mid-week as if it was a Monday. However since we knew we only had a day more until the weekend, there was a sense of relief felt, instead of the stress that a Monday brings.

Driving home and witnessing the snowstorms aftermath, it became apparent that not all living things fared well from the tardy wintery weather. Every single plum tree was split, and their blossom-covered limbs lay sadly around their base awaiting clean up. They just could not withstand the weight of the snow, and snapped under the pressure. It was really a disheartening sight.

From it, though, this craft was born: "Ode to a Plum Tree" — a celebration of Spring —  yes — but also a tribute of all those trees with their downed limbs. Next time our town will be all the wiser, and will be whacking that snow out of those trees early on!

I did this project as a joint activity with my son, as sometimes I think it is just more enjoyable for him to have his mama on board.

Materials used:

• Yellow, light blue, and green tissue paper cut in squares
• Bright pink tissue paper, larger pieces cut and crumpled up
• a square of mat board 
• Pencil
• brown construction paper
• Sta-Flo liquid starch
• paint brush
• glue

I drew a circle for the sun with a pencil. We then covered the board with the liquid starch and pressed tissue paper squares down, yellow for the sun and blue for the sky, in their respective places. I encouraged overlapping, and we periodically painted more liquid starch on top to flatten the paper down.

I outlined my son's arm and hand on brown construction paper. I cut it out. I had him glue it down on the board.

We then pressed crumpled up pink tissue paper onto glue that was dotted all around the tree.

For the last step, we put green tissue paper grass on the bottom.

All done! A pretty display to hang in his room!
If you liked this post and you want to stay informed of more kid activity ideas I post or find around the blogosphere, remember to "like" me on my Facebook Page! Thank you! Have a wonderful day!

Rain cloud in a jar

The rain just won't let up in these parts! And today it came down harder than usual.

So it is not a surprise that making a rain cloud in a jar was top on our agenda for the afternoon.  I had seen this activity circulating around the kids' craft blogosphere and thought it looked fun, not to mention educational. Although not technically an accurate simulation of a rain cloud, it provided a platform to highlight basic points of what causes rain to happen.

It was the perfect rainy day activity!

Materials we used:

• Colorations Liquid Watercolor in different colors (I got this from Discount School Supply)
• Glass Mason jar- quart size
• water 
• Shaving cream
• 3 glass dishes to hold watercolor
• Eyedroppers

Step one: Flll jar 3/4s way full with water. Add dollop of shaving cream. Be sure not to fill it too high (as I did), or the colored water will spill over the sides of the jar.

I explained to Bode that the shaving cream represented a cloud, and that we are going pretend that the water in the jar is air. Then I explained to him that a CLOUD is made up of lots and lots of water droplets, but that these water droplets are so tiny and light that they float. 

Step Two: Have child use droppers to apply watercolor to shaving cream. I chose to use 3 colors, although of course one color would suffice. We have been on a roll this month using the color theme in our projects, so I decided to continue in that vein (I couldn't resist the idea of rainbow rain!). Have child keep repeating application. Eventually the colored liquid seeps through, and can be seen as striations of color below the "cloud".

As my son kept adding more and more liquid to the shaving cream mass, I asked him, "What do you think would happen if more and more water is added to a cloud?
The cloud would get really heavy, right? And it would no longer be able to hold up all that water, and so the water would fall from the cloud."

We then observed the watercolors come down in striations, like rain. Bode was fascinated.

I took this opportunity to talk to Bode about the term PRECIPITATION.  "Precipitation is different forms of water falling from the sky. Rain is one form. What do you think other forms of precipitation are?" He guessed "snow" right away. I talked to him about hail and sleet also.

Pretty rainbow striations! I know, a perfect lead-in to talk about diffusion and circulatory displacement. But he is 4. Maybe in 5 years!

Thanks for visiting!