This year we are working on our journey patches, and we chose the Welcome to the Flower Garden patch to start the year off with because it does such a great job reviewing all those petals we earned last year.

I wanted to share with you the fun mini flower garden activity we created as part of our patch.   

It’s a fun craft that can teach preschoolers as well as those “big” kindergarten and first graders a little about responsibility.

You may also enjoy our  Mini Resurrection Garden.

Kids Mini Garden Activity

Materials Needed for Mini Garden:

• Small Plastic Container with Lid (We used recycled food containers.)
• Potting Soil
• Grass Seed
• Craft Foam Flowers
• Small Beads
• Toothpicks
• Glue
• Stickers (Optional.)
• Copies of Girl Scout Promise (If doing this as an activity for Welcome to the Flower Garden patch.)

To save on the amount of soil each mini garden would need, I cut the plastic containers ahead of time to approximately 2 1/2 inches high.   I also used a nail and poked 3-4 drainage holes in the bottom of each container.

Once we were at the Daisy Girl Scout meeting, the girls took turns filling their containers half way with potting mix.

Then they sprinkled a handful of grass seed on top!

Why grass seed?

The Watering Can award that goes on the journey’s patch focuses on the part of the Girl Scout law that says, “responsible for what I say and do.”

With our project the girls need to be responsible not only for watering their mini gardens, but also for keeping them nice looking by trimming the grass when it gets too tall.  (Much like the grass head craft we did at home.)

Once the girls had plenty of soil in their containers, they used pre-cut strips of colorful paper to cover the container’s outside.  On this they glued a copy of the Girl Scout promise, a required component of earning the award, and a great way to help refresh their memories after the long summer break!

They also added plenty of stickers to the outside of the container for decoration!

Finally, we added some colorful craft foam flowers to our garden.  After all, the journey is “Welcome to the Flower Garden!”

We made our flowers using craft foam flower shapes, toothpicks, and small beads.  For each flower the girls stuck a small green leaf onto the toothpick.  (Just poke the toothpick through carefully.)  Next they stuck on a flower shape, and finally they glued a small bead to the top to act as the center of the flower.

Before leaving the meeting the girls took turns using a small watering can to water their mini gardens.  They were reminded of their responsibility to take care of the garden by watering it weekly and trimming the grass as needed.

They were all very excited to show their parents their mini gardens at pick up time!

This project is definitely one that could be done outside of Girl Scouts.  In fact, my son was asking to create his own mini garden once he saw his sister’s.  It is the perfect garden craft to celebrate spring.

You may also enjoy:

• 20 Beautiful Flower Crafts for Kids
• Beach-Themed Fairy Garden House 
• Awesome Camp Crafts — Perfect for Scouts or Family Camping Trips
  
  

The post Mini Garden Activity first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

This children’s Lent activity helps kids visualize and better understand the events of Holy Week.  

Creating a Resurrection Garden is a simple and powerful Easter activity they will remember all their lives.

Resurrection Garden Activity

Materials Needed:

• Small Plastic Container or Flower Pot
• Miniature Flower Pot 
• Garden Soil
• Small Rock (large enough to cover the opening of the mini flower pot)
• Moss, Small Flowers, etc.  
• Small Figurine
• Small Cross 

Start by adding soil to your small plastic container.  

We used an old, shallow Tupperware dish for our Lent garden.  A flower pot would look cute as well.

Next, add a miniature flower pot to the container.  This will serve as the tomb.  If you don’t have a miniature flower pot, you could also use a small paper cup.  

Allow your child to decorate the garden with moss, small plants, and decorative rocks.   We searched our flower beds for these.

This will represent the garden that Jesus went to in order to pray before his death.  

Good Friday Activity

On Good Friday add a small cross to your garden.  If you don’t have one, you can make one by tying two small sticks together or using pieces of craftsticks.  

Have your child place the small figurine in the “tomb,” and then place a rock in front of its opening.  

This activity is the perfect opportunity to talk about why Jesus chose to die on the cross and what it means for us!

You may also want to try the rising water experiment to help explain how Jesus removes sin.  

We like to cover the Good Friday garden with a small black cloth on Holy Saturday, much like they covered the parents’ painting in the Frozen movie after they died.  It really helps kids understand the somber mood and reflect on what has happened.  

On Easter Sunday, move the rock from the entrance of the tomb and remove the figure inside.  

Then allow your child to see the garden.  

You may even want to decorate the Easter garden with colorful flowers, either real or artificial, to reflect the joy of the day and to show new life.   

If you are looking for a way to make the events leading up to Easter more tangible for your children, create your very own Resurrection Garden together this year.

More Easter crafts and activities:

• Tissue Paper Cross Collage
• Coffee Filter Cross Sun Catcher
• 15 Fun Ways to Learn with Plastic Eggs

The post Simple Resurrection Garden Activity for Kids first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.