Grow your own, at home Children love the outdoors and are endlessly fascinated by things that grow. Exploring living things stimulates children’s creative thinking and instils a sense of awe and wonder. And the best thing is that you don’t need a garden or much space to explore growing at home. One of our Nursery Managers, Kyrstie, shares some of our favourite activities at our nurseries that you can try at home.
Sprouting beans
uple Give your child a co an be d oa br of pea or p po em th let d pods an t. ou s the peas and bean w ho t Talk to them abou peas the pods keep the d an fe sa s and bean e ar ey th ilst warm wh w fe a ep Ke . growing one peas and beans to hers ot side and cook the th wi to make a salad d an int m some fresh pty em an e Lin lemon juice. en ch kit e m so th bottle wi maining roll and push the re wn beans and peas do and t ois the sides. Keep m d an s ot ro watch for new ar. pe ap shoots to
Flower pressing Visit your local Westminster park or hunt in your garden for some pretty flowers that are ok to pick. At home, place them between tissues and insert into a heavy book to press. After a few weeks, open the book and look at how the flowers have changed whilst they’ve been in the dark. Use the pressed flowers to make pretty greeting cards or bookmarks.
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atu Make a grass cre
and soil. ual parts grass seed eq th wi ck so old Fill an th an elastic closed or fasten wi p to e th w se r he Eit d keep moist, ck on a foil tray an so e th ep Ke . nd ba the grass starts over water. Once taking care not to d beads and es of the sock, ad growing out the sid ture. mplete your crea stick on eyes to co
Home grown green hair Take a close up photo of your child’s face, print it and stick onto the outside of a yogurt pot or butter tub. Scrunch up some tissue or cotton wool, moisten with water and put in the pot. Sprinkle on some cress seeds and watch as your child grows some wild green hair! Once grown, they can snip it with scissors and add to a sandwich or salad as a snack.
Colouring live flowers
Add a few drops of food colouring to water in a vase before puttin ga few carnations in. Ch eck every day with your child to see what happen s when the flowers suc k up the water.
For more green fingered ideas and activities, join us at your local Family Fun Day. Details at www.leyf.org.uk The London Early Year’s Foundation (LEYF) is the UK’s most well-known and respected childcare social enterprise, providing day care and parenting support to a diverse mix of families in 25 community, workplace and Children’s Centre nurseries across six London boroughs. We have 14 nurseries in Westminster, visit www.leyf.org.uk to find your local nursery.
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