An Earth Day Activity Just For Mom

Why hello there!

Happy Fun Friday to you.  Today we will be sharing a fun activity for both Earth Day and Mother's Day.  We are all about maximizing the little time you have in the classroom, so here it is:

First of all, you will be using milk cartons that students have saved from lunch, so you are reusing them.  Remind students that these can also be recycled, and there is no need to throw them away.  Also, planting something and watching it grow year after year is another way to protect the Earth.  When their plants grow big enough, they can be transplanted into their gardens outside at home.

Step 1

Wash out the carton and have students cut off the top(or you can).  Then put soil and seeds into a plastic cup.  The cup will eventually be placed into the milk carton.  You can also plant directly into the carton if you like.  Just wait until the end of the project to do so.  Y'all can also buy a potted flower to put into the carton if you need to have something quick.

Step 2

Have students choose a color of construction paper for their Mother's Day planter.  The paper itself needs to be 9X12.  We used pink, but you can provide other colors.  Students will be drawing on them, so stick to lighter colors like yellow, orange, light blue, etc.  You will cut strips that are 3" by 12" so each piece of paper will make 3 strips.

Students will fold their paper around the empty carton to create drawing spaces.  Draw a dot on the edge of each strip to designate the space they are not to decorate.  This space will be covered when they attach their covers to the carton.

Step 3

Students will decorate their strips, writing the message to their mothers in the center square.  Make sure each student writes his or her name on the strip and keep them for a later date.

Step 4

Water the plants in the undecorated milk cartons until students take home their Mother's Day gifts.  The plastic cups help keep water from damaging the paper.  Each popsicle stick has the name of the student to whom the plant belongs.

Step 5

On take-home day, have students glue their covers to the milk cartons and voila!  A beautiful Mother's Day gift that is friendly to the Earth.

We hope you enjoyed this lovely multi-holiday activity.  Tune in Monday for tips on differentiating centers.

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Have a great weekend!