Homemade Books

It’s gardening time again! I look forward to the warm days and watching our garden grow. It’s early for planting yet in Wisconsin, but now’s the time to get seeds started for transplanting. We’re also exploring the colors found in the garden with a Colors of the Garden Homemade Art Book.

More than ever, we’re hearing about “Farm to Table” and the importance of children having access to healthy, fresh fruits and vegetables. Giving children this experience in preschool is invaluable. Most of the preschoolers I care for do not have a garden at home. Children need to learn where food comes from and how foods grow. Growing a garden is such a wonderful way to connect children and nature.

Miracle-Gro® believes that there’s a lot to learn from even the smallest plants. So they started Gro-ables Project. It’s a movement to share the joy of growing herbs and veggies while giving kids truly hands-on learning experiences. See what we’ve done and join us by planting your own Gro-ables and taking part in the activities below. Be sure to share your story too!

Colors of the Garden Book

This is a simple homemade book of colors with a garden theme. Each page is created with process art. I’ve created some printable pages to get you started.

Needed: 

• Cardstock
• Construction paper
• COLORS OF THE GARDEN // Colors
• paint
• scissors
• glue
• stapler

Directions: Cover: Print and color cover.

Brown Dirt

Mix a small amount of potting soil into some brown paint. Paint on white cardstock.

Yellow Sun

Paint a small paper plate with yellow paint. Glue onto blue construction paper page.

Blue Rain Drops

Using a pipette, drip blue paint onto white cardstock.

Orange Carrots

Paint page with orange paper as desired. Try mixing paint to make orange. Cut into triangles and glue onto orange construction paper.

Green Leaves & Stems

Cut pieces of green paper into leaves and stems. Glue onto brown construction paper background.

Purple Flower

Paint hand with purple paint. Make a handprint on white cardstock. Draw leaves and stems and decorate page as desired. Glue onto purple construction paper.

Red Tomatoes

Dip the rim of a paper cup into red paint. Create circles on white cardstock. Glue onto red construction paper.

Layer finished pages between two pieces of construction paper to create a cover and staples pages together into a book.

Starting a Garden with Children

This growing season, we’re going to start our garden with Miracle-Gro Gro-ables. Growing a garden with Gro-ables is very simple. The seed pods come complete with potting soil and plant food to grow a plant.  Simply plant, water and watch the seed pod grow!

Each Gro-able is guaranteed to grow. Planting Gro-ables is a simple, fun and educational way to start a garden and spend time with children. The seed pods are much easier for little ones to handle than teeny tiny little seeds.

With Miracle-Gro Gro-ables you can grow a fruit, herb, or vegetable with a simple seed pod. Simply plant, water and watch it grow! After you push the seed pod into loosened soil (until the top is level with the soil’s surface), water it daily. In 1-2 weeks your seed will sprout. Several months after planting, flowers will appear which means it will soon bear fruit.

We are starting our pods indoors in pots since it’s still too cold to plant directly outdoors. The children will love to watch them sprout and grow! I’m looking forward to the large variety of plants we’re going to grow including: basil, spinach, lettuce, eggplant, tomatoes and peppers.

Follow:  Twitter: @miraclegro  &  Instagram: @miraclegro

What tips do you have for growing plants with children?