Craft and Activities for a Garden Themed MOMS Camp

Once you have started your own MOMS Camp, a good weekly theme to use is "How Does Your Garden Grow?" Learning about seeds and plants provides great science exploration for your preschooler. It is also a good chance to get outside and have some fun!

Planning a garden-themed week for your stay at home MOMS Camp is easy and fun. It is a good idea to have this week near the beginning of the summer when you will have plenty of time to reap the benefits of a garden. No matter when you plan this week, be sure to plant fruits, vegetables, and flowers that are appropriate for your climate as well as the time of year you are planting.

Here are some ideas to get you started on your own MOMS Camp week called "How Does Your Garden Grow?":

Plant a VegetableGarden

Even if you are not dealt perfect weather, there are still plenty of gardening activities to enjoy indoors. To plant many seeds, use a recycled egg carton so each compartment can hold two or three seeds of one type. If needed, you can create a miniature green house for your budding plants by covering the carton with plastic wrap, and holding it up off the seedlings with toothpicks. You can keep many plants indoors and transplant them to an exterior garden when they are bigger and when the weather outside is more agreeable.

Garden Markers

Use large size craft sticks to create markers for your garden. You or your child can write the names of each crop or flower you've planted on a separate stick. Have your child either decorate the stick itself, or attach a picture they drew to the top of the stick. Be sure to laminate their drawing first so it will last through the weather.

Farmers Market

As you're waiting for your own vegetable garden to ripen, head to the grocery store or your local Farmers Market to pick up some fresh produce. Buying crops straight from the farmers could just be exciting enough for your child to want to try something new. As you walk by the booths, point out the different root vegetables, the different sizes of tomatoes, or even the different kinds of lettuce.

Vegetable Flower Snack

http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/appetizers-snacks/healthy-snacks/vegetable-flowers-with-homemade-ranch-dip-685566/

This whimsical flower makes a fun snack or good addition to any meal. Have your child explore new tastes with vegetables they haven't tried before, or have them help with this flower snack to encourage them to eat their veggies.

Corn Cob Painting

http://www.scholastic.com/resources/article/corn-cob-painting/

With this activity, you can make the lesson go a step further. Once you have chosen corn from the grocery store or farmers' market, you can save the cob to use as a fun painting tool! Be sure to buy corn that is still in the husk so your child can experience it in the most natural form and learn how some vegetables need to be prepared before they can be eaten.

Plastic Posies

http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/plastic-posies-675333/

Here is a great project to introduce a lesson on recycling. If you want to, also use this time to start a compost pile which you can later use in your garden.

Flower Fabric Prints

http://www.scholastic.com/resources/article/flower-power/

This is a wonderful activity for any child who likes tools! There is always a way to include your child in any MOMS Camp theme, no matter what their interest may be.

When you are choosing quiet time activities, consider any DVD of The Veggie Tales, such as Lessons From The Sock Drawer. The characters are all vegetables so it would be a cute fit for our garden MOMS Camp. Another fun movie to watch is Gnomeo and Juliet, which came out in 2010.

Sometimes gardening and flowers is considered more of a girls' realm, but this theme can be adjusted to fit boys or any child who thinks gardens are just to be pretty. Of course, there's nothing wrong with just a "pretty" garden, but they can be so much more! Use this week to play in the dirt, dig for worms, pound a hammer, and live like a farmer. There are no set rules for MOMS Camp, so if your child would rather spend most of their time digging holes in the garden, then work that into your schedule and enjoy the moment. After all, MOMS Camp stands for Make Our Moments Special!

Sources:

www.familyfun.com

www.scholastic.com