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Grow Seeds, Make a Mr. Grasshead and lots of other fun
Growing seeds can be great fun if inspired by imagination!
Why not grow a Mr. Grass Head!
What you need is a pair of old tights, some sawdust, a jam jar and a small amount of grass seed, some buttons for eyes and perhaps some old material with needle and thread or glue to make a mouth and nose, but these can be done with whatever takes your fancy
A pet shop will provide the small amount of sawdust required (About a sock full for each head) and most pet shops/seed shops will let you have a handful of grass seed.
You start by cutting the foot end off the tights, putting a small amount of grass seed in the end and then filling it with sawdust - tie the end tight. This tied end will be the base of the head which then sits in the jam jar which itself can be decorated
The grass will grow at the top of the head.
Eyes, ears, nose and mouth can be added either by gluing (take care not to wet the glue when watering later) or by simply stitching parts onto the head.
Gentle watering of the top of the head will soon produce a good head of hair which can be trimmed and styled to suit.
In fact your Mr. Grass Head can develop quite a personality and become a valued member of the family.
More mercenary kids may even be keen to mass produce grass heads for sale.
Indoor Gardening
Beans and peas can be grown in full view in a jam jar.
You will need a jam jar, some blotting paper or an A4 sheet of normal printer paper or at a pinch even news paper will do though this will have to be rolled quite thick, some sawdust to fill the jar and a suitable seed or two, say a bean or pea.
First cut the paper so it is the height of the jam jar and then roll it to fit inside the jam jar. In the middle of the paper roll (in the jam jar) fill it with sawdust then take your seed and push it between the paper and the glass of the jar. Push it about half way down.
You then water the sawdust and in a few days you will see the seed start to shoot and the roots start to grow. Keep it watered - not over watered - and a good crop should develop.
Outdoor Gardening.
If the weather is OK kids can have great fun creating their own garden. Give them a small patch of ground, preferably cleared of weeds, as kids like quick results and a weedy patch might not prove much of an incentive.
Although it is now winter time there are still seeds and plants both flowers and especially vegetables which can be grown at this time. Some examples are Rainbow chard, lamb's lettuce and Red-giant Mustard which will all produce salad greens to eat later in the winter. The best thing is to go and see what your local garden center has ins stock, and ask them for advice on what to grow.
You could also plant some bulbs, for example daffodils, tulips or hyacinth. A trip to a garden center can be much more fun for kids if they are going to buy some plants for themselves.
Kids can have great fun labeling and putting in pegs to show what has been sown and watching the seeds grow.
Safety First
Don't let kids use gardening forks.
Kitchen cutlery can make sufficiently good gardening tools for young children.
If a rake is used great care must be taken as the old cartoon joke of standing on a rake does happen if care is not taken.
Bamboo stakes must not be used, as children and adults can get hit in the eye when bending over. A good tip for stakes if they have to be used is to place an old plastic bottle over the top to prevent this kind of injury.
Always wash hands well after gardening.
HAPPY GARDENING!!!!