Materials
1-liter plastic soda bottles
water
food coloring
clear shampoo
small toys that fit in bottles such as fish and seashells
glitter or sand
marbles
baby oil
blue food coloring
Instructions
1. Beforehand, save and label one seed from each packet. Save the seed
packets. Mix the rest of the seeds together in a large jar.
2. Read The Surprise Garden by Zoe Hall to the children. Talk about the garden
in the story and tell the children they
are going to create their own surprise
garden.
3. Place the wading pool in a sunny area
of the playground and let the children
fill it with potting soil.
4. Give each child a small paper cup of
seeds from the large jar. Ask the
children to sprinkle the seeds over
the potting soil. Make sure they
evenly distribute the seeds rather
than dump them in large clumps.
Help the children gently cover the
seeds with more potting soil. Let
them use the watering cans
to gently sprinkle water over
the seeds.
5. Ask the children to help
assemble a cube-shape
frame for the garden with
PVC pipes. Attach four
straight pieces with the elbows
to create a square frame.
6. Put a 3' long straight piece into each of the four elbow tops. Attach an elbow
to the top of each of the four 3' long sections.
7. Attach the four remaining straight pieces to the top of the frame.
8. Cover the frame with the clear plastic to create a mini greenhouse. If needed,
secure the edges of the plastic to the ground by placing large rocks on it.
9. Water the garden as needed.
10. Show the children the seed that was
saved from each pack. Ask them
to predict what plant might
grow from the seed.
11. Attach the empty seed packets
to a piece of poster board. Put
the saved seeds in a small
container. Give the container to
the children and challenge them to
match the seeds to the correct packet.
When the plants have reached maturity,
challenge the children to match them to their
seed packets.
12. Let children observe the garden over a period of a few weeks. Keep track of
the garden's progress in a journal.
13. When the seedlings are sturdy, remove the greenhouse cover. Show the
children how to care for the garden. Remember to weed and water it on a
regular basis. Enjoy the fruits (and flowers) of your labor!
