Romaine's Garden
Children's Projects
As many children would rather be outside than anywhere else, digging, making, building and raking, then gardening is an ideal and healthy activity. They learn so much by doing as well as by looking and reading.
Each month this section will describe a gardening activity for children.
Hopefully each project will provide fun, interest and educational value.
The most recent project will be listed first.

Fairy Garden

Fairies are always elusive and have bewitched the imaginations of humans for centuries. Very few people have glimpsed more than a shadow of them or heard more than an echo. With a little time and imagination, you can easily make your own Fairy Garden.

You will need:- Part of the back garden. A toy or small spade, pebbles, sand, foil, twigs, Christmas tinsel, bells, ribbons,buttons, flowers and herbs, rocks, ferns and moss and if you wish, little Fairy figures and Gold paint spray available from bargain shops.

1. Shape you soil to make hills, valleys and ponds.
2. Decorate with all of the things you have collected.
3. Try adding stick tunnels, bridges and pathways.
4. Make a Fairy Swing from string and sticks.
5. Add small plants and floating flowers to your pond.
6. Ask an adult to spray some gold paint on your pebbles.
7. You may want to hand paint some of the other pebbles and sticks.
8. Make some steps along some of your pathways.
9. Design a little sign that says "My Fairy Garden"
10.Enjoy watching your Fairies play.

Friendly Scarecrow

You will need:- Some old clothes, five old socks, a hat, some straw, one and a half tomato stakes, a texta, two buttons, some string and a hammer.

1. Fill the socks with straw. One for the head, two for the arms and two for the legs.
2. Tie two socks together and put through the arms of the shirt.
3. Put more straw in the shirt tummy.
4. Put the legs in the trousers.
5. Fill the trousers with more straw and tie to the shirt.
6. Draw a friendly face and sew or glue on the button eyes.
7. Push a tomato stake right through your Scarecrow.
8. Push the half stake through the arms.
9. Hammer him into the garden.
10.Tie on his head and put on his hat. You now have a Friendly Scarecrow!

Little Wormfarm

You will need:- A glass jar, sand, garden soil, worms, rotted leaves or compost, black paper, stickytape and scissors.

1. Place 5cm of sand in the jar.
2. Place 5cm of soil in the jar.
3. Keep making layers of sand and soil until you are near the top.
4. Add 2 or 3 worms to the top layer of soil and give them names.
5. Sprinkle with a spoonful of water.
6. Cover the top with leaves or compost.
7. Cut black paper to fit around the jar and decorate with paint or stickers.
8. Put sticky tape on the paper so it can wrap around the jar.
9. After a few days slide off the paper and see what the worms are doing.
10. Why do you think gardeners love finding worms in their garden?

Vermicasting is another word for worm "poo".

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