Friday, May 23, 2014

Painted Garden Markers

Hey there, friends!

Have you started planting gardens where you are? We finally have good enough weather, so we decided to get some herbs planted. I have been trying to encourage Abbey to do more handwriting, so I had her help me make some garden markers!


What you need:
  • craft sticks
  • craft paint & brushes
  • permanent marker
  • seeds
She started out by painting the craft sticks. I set her up with some paint and let her go to town.


Once those were dry I gave her a permanent marker and had her write the name of each herb we were planting on the sticks. This was a great chance for her to practice her handwriting.

She had to look at each name and decide how big her letters should be. Some words were little, while some words like "lavender" took up more space.

She also had the chance to practice copying text. Rather than spelling out the names for her, I handed her each seed packet, showed her which word to write, and let her copy it on her own. She did a great job!

I think she did a great job! In case you were wondering, those drawings at the bottoms are seeds. Her own artistic interpretation. ;)


Then we got to planting! As I grabbed each seed packet, she found the right stick and stuck it in the dirt. Reading practice! Bonus!

I have one proud little girl! It took a while for her to understand that it will take a while for our herbs to sprout. She checked them at least 5 times this afternoon! I can't wait to see her face when they sprout!

What are your favorite herbs to plant?
Do you dry them and keep them, or just use them fresh?

Be blessed!
Heather

1 comment:

  1. Heather, you are amazing! Just love, love, love that you have started yet another blog!!!
    I use my herbs fresh and I dry them. My favorites are chocolate mint, peppermint, basil, coriander/cilantro, parsley and chives. I have sage and I do dry it, but it is not one I use very often. I usually send it off to a friend of mine in CA. :-)
    My sister grows lavender, but never uses it. I have convinced her to let me have it when she trims it up.... I now have lots of dried lavender and I have dried the whole plant, stems, leaves and buds. I grind the stems and leaves up in an old blender and use it for sachets and all kinds of other stuff. Since I know she uses chemicals on her yard (not necessarily on her lavender) I don't use it in food. Just as a scent.
    Keep up the good work. You are awesome, and your sweet little girl is wonderful!

    ReplyDelete