Make a Miniature Garden

Materials

One planter, e.g., a 6-celled seedling starter tray, a plant growing tray, or a 6-celled paper egg carton
Soil
Spoons
Water
3 to 6 different types of vegetable, herb, or flower seeds (see chart below for examples)
Laminated plant identifier garden sticks (or use contact paper to protect the sticks from water)
Nature Cat Plant Journal (See how to make the journal below.)
Pencil
Small rocks to add to the bottom of the planter (to help with drainage)
Printable: Nature Cat Miniature Garden (PDF)

Printable: Nature Cat Plant Journal (PDF)

Know in advance what kind of seeds your child will plant. You can use the plants on the

“Suggested Plants” chart on page 3, or try other plants that you know grow well indoors or outdoors in your region. Print and cut out the plant identifier sticks, then laminate or use clear contact paper on the sticks to protect them from water.

Have your child watch the three video clips from Episode 107: Where Have All the Butterflies Gone?! on pbskids.org/learn. Afterward, talk about different types of gardens. Ask your child, "What kind of garden have you seen?" Or, "Have you seen a vegetable garden, a flower garden, an herb garden, or a butterfly garden?" Then tell your child what type of garden he will be planting today.

1 - Ask your child, “What do you think might be needed to start a garden?” “What will the seeds need to grow into a plant?” Give him the tray or 6-celled planter and some soil. Have him use a spoon to fill the tray or each cell about 2/3 full of soil.

2 - Let your child pick one or more types of seeds to plant. Ask him to describe the seeds. Are they small or large? Are they round or oval? What color are they?

3 - Give your child the Nature Cat plant identifiers that match the seeds he selected. Have him put the sticks along the edge where the seeds will be planted.

4- Ask your child to use one finger to press a dimple into the middle of the soil–either one dimple in each cell or several dimples in a line on a tray. Then have him place his selected seeds into the dimple. Cover up the dimple with more soil.

5- Help your child add water to each cell or along the tray until the soil is moist. If using a container with drain holes or paper egg cartons, be sure to protect your work surface with a plastic tray or by placing a paper towel under the planter to absorb any extra water.

6- The miniature garden is ready! Let your child help think of a place to put the planter. It will need sunlight, and it will need to be watered.

7- Help your child fill in the second page of the Nature Cat Journal, so that he knows how often to water the plant. Your child can also use the journal to document the growth of his plant(s) over time. Ask him to predict how many days it might take before he can see a sprout. Once the seed starts to sprout, have your child check his prediction. Was he on target? Ask him what the sprouts look like.

1- Print out the plant journal.

2- Cut out the journal pages along the dotted lines, so that there’ll be 8 pages for the journal

3- Stack all of the journal pages together, pages 1-8.

4- Staple the top left corner of the pages to make a book.

5- Follow the directions on each page of the journal.