I am not even close to a green thumb. Give me a plant and I can kill it by just standing next to it for too long. I am glad that my kid did not get the black thumb gene passed down to him. He just finished some preschool projects where they got to plant seeds in little cups and take care of them until they sprouted. He really enjoyed it. I thought it was very cute that he was bringing home cups of plants until a few sat on my counter next to my sink looking a bit like they needed to be dressed up. In other words, I am trying to get the plants out of the ugly plastic cups and into the ground before the decorating police arrive. I felt bad about “messing with” his preschool masterpieces until I found these on Etsy from Plaid Pigeon. “Roger” the dinosaur was made from a repurposed plastic toy! I love that. Perfect to put in the window of his room, play area, or backyard. After the plant is done (dies) then it can be a toy again. Re-useable just in time for Earth Day!
Other Earth Day type things I found to do with kids and dirt (because they are going to get dirty anyway) are:
Plant Pals “Plant a seed and watch a sprout appear in just 3 days! Lots of sprouts, actually. You’ll get to grow Mung Bean, Alfalfa and Wheat Grass Pals. Mung Bean Pals grow fast – how fast? Build a measurer and find out. The best part is that once you’re done experimenting, you can eat the plants you grow!”
Indoor Gardening Kit “Young green thumbs can watch nature at work by growing an indoor garden in just days with the environmentally friendly indoor gardening kit from green toys. Made of recycled plastic, this planting kit comes with a peapod-shaped planter, three planting pots, a trowel, and three packages of organic seeds of teddy bear sunflower, basil, and zinnia and soil disks.”