This week’s printable house features a greenhouse nurturing plants for spring. When I was little, my mom used to get out the grow lights and start a zillion different seeds inside our back sunroom. It always made the end of winter much more exciting.
Now, as a parent, I don’t have my mom’s green thumb. But I still love plants. So I find the change of seasons becomes a cause for celebration! Spring is more fun when you can exclaim over the earthworms, root for the new shoots of grass, and go hunting for bugs with your little ones. Here are some of our favorite springtime activities:
- Leaf stamping: Choose large sturdy leaves—tulips and hostas have great leaves, but experiment with all the leaves you can find! With tempera or acrylic, paint one side of your leaves. My daughter likes to use several different colors. Then, turn them over and press them onto a piece of paper. Peel back the leaves and check out your leaf print!
- Gather sticks and wrap them in embroidery floss or yarn. Use several different colors to make striped sticks, then put them in a glass vase or arrange them on your mantel or the center of your dining room table.
- Make flower crowns with dandelions or other flowers you have in abundance.Pick them with stems about 4” long, then use your fingernails to slice a small slit in the center of each stem near the flower. Thread one flower stem through the next stem, and continue around to make your chain. Then attach them together at the end by putting the first stem into the slit of the last stem. Beautiful!
- Plant seeds for a summer harvest. Strawberries, tomatoes, and beans are our favorites. Follow instructions that come with the seed packets. You can get creative with your planters, too. For instance, I just saw a great Pinterest idea to plant seeds in ice cream cones. Then, when the shoots are ready, plant them directly into your garden - the cones will disintegrate over time.
- And of course, pick flowers for a bouquet! This one is easy. I love bringing Lily of the Valley and Lilacs inside. Their scents fill the whole room.
