Visit a neighborhood garden or nursery

Take your child to a nearby nursery, garden, or even your local Home Depot! Let them explore the different types of plants and flowers. Note the variety of colors, shapes, and sizes!

Plastic Jug Watering Can

Supplies:
• ½ gallon plastic milk or juice jug with handle and lid
• Small finishing nail or screw
• Hammer
• Stickers

Directions:
1. Thoroughly wash out a plastic milk or juice jug.

2. Have your child go through a supply of stickers to choose what they would like to use to decorate their water jug.

3. A grown up should use the tip of a finishing nail or screw and a hammer to gently poke holes in the lid of the jug.

4. Have your child decorate the jug with their choice of stickers. Other options to decorate include gluing on yarn or painting the jug. Keep in mind that the decorations may not last, but the functionality of the watering can will!

5. Fill jug with water and put lid back on.

6. Show child how to hold the jug with the handle and tip it to rain on the flowers!

Tips:
• If the decorations wear off, don't fret--just redecorate the jug with new accessories.
• Add some plant food (according to box directions) to the water jug if children are old enough to understand not to drink it.
• Keep water jug on a low shelf near the garden so your helper can reach it easily.

Grow a Garden

Supplies:
The pot your child painted
Soil
Flower Seeds
Small Rocks


Directions:
Put a layer of small rocks in the bottom of the pot for drainage. Fill with potting soil. Sow seeds 1/4" deep. Water. Place in sunny location. Allow 10 - 14 days to germinate.

Paint a Pot

Supplies:

Small clay pot

Paint

Brushes

Directions:

Have the child paint their own pot to plant their seeds in!

Gardening

*Suggested Reading*

Jack’s Garden

by Henry Cole

The Garden in Our Yard (Read With Me Paperbacks) by Greg Henry Quinn

The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss

In My Garden :

A Counting Book by Ward Schumaker

The Very Hungry

Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Items needed this week:

• ½ gallon plastic milk or juice jug with handle and lid
• Small finishing n ail or screw
• Hammer
• Stickers
• Small Clay Pot
• Paint
• Brushes
• Potting Soil
• Flower Seeds
• Small Rocks

Snack Suggestion:

Dirt Cups

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cold milk
• 1 4-serving size package instant chocolate pudding
• 8 oz. frozen whipped topping (such as Cool Whip), thawed
• 1-1/2 cups crushed sandwich cookies (such as Oreos)
• 20 gummy worms
• Clear Plastic Cups

Preparation:

1. Whisk together milk and instant pudding for two minutes, until pudding is completely dissolved and. Let stand 5 minutes to thicken.
2. Stir in frozen whipped topping and 1/2 cup of the crushed cookies.
3. Spoon into 10 cups.
4. Sprinkle remaining crushed cookies over the pudding mixture. Top with 2 gummy worms.
5. Chill until ready to serve.