Fun Friday – Gardening

My last Fun Friday program was a much smaller group of kids – I think partly because it’s a beautiful day outside and partly because the school year is winding down and families are so busy right now.  Nevertheless, we had a great time.  I read The Curious Garden by Peter Brown about a garden on an abandoned train track that with a little bit of love turns the city into a garden all its own.  I also shared a few poems and Looking Closely Inside the Garden by, Frank Serafini which the kids loved because it showed close-ups pictures of different things that can be found in a garden, then you flip the page to see the larger image.  After all of our stories, we made our own Chia Pet/Mr. Potato Head/Grass heads using cups with Mr. Potato Head parts glued on the sides and then we planted grass seed for hair.

Fiction:

• Curious Garden – Peter Brown
• The Imaginary Garden – Andrew Larsen
• Magic Pickle and the Garden of Evil – Scott Morse
• The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett
• The Garden of Abdul Gasazi – Chris Van Allsburg

Poetry:

• I Heard it From Alice Zucchini: Poems About the Garden – Juanita Havill
• Night Garden:  Poems from the World of Dreamers – Janet S. Wong
• In Aunt Giraffe’s Green Garden – Jack Prelutsky

Non-Fiction:

• Experiments with Plants – Salvatore Tocci
• Inside Guides: Incredible Plants – Barbara Taylor
• Linnea in Monet’s Garden – Christina Bjork
• Learning About Plants – World Book
• I Wonder Why: Trees Have Leaves and Other Questions About Plants – Andrew Charman
• Plants Around the World – World Book
• Looking Closely Inside the Garden – Frank Serafini

Activity: Make Your Own Grass Head (Chia Pet)
 Supplies:

• Small plastic cup
• Potting Soil
• Grass seed
• Potato head parts

 Directions:

1. Choose the “potato head” pieces you like.  Color and cut them out.
2. Glue to cup.
3. Fill with potting soil, grass seed, and a little water.