Crafts For Kids: Living Springtime Crafts

Everything comes alive in the spring so your crafts for kids should too. You can have a science lesson, fun, and something pretty to look at every day.

1. Live Easter Grass

This is a lovely way to create a living Easter basket or springtime scene. It’s easy, and it’s fun to watch it grow. (Be careful if you have pet cats – they will love to eat this grass!) You’ll need:

* Basket or other decorative container with holes for drainage (you could use an empty cardboard egg carton, too)
* Potting soil
* Wheat berries (available at health food stores and some grocery stores)
* Water
* Spray bottle

Fill your container with soil. If you’re using a basket, first line the basket with a coffee filter or single layer of newspaper. Fill container with soil, leaving about 1/4″ from the top if using small containers; if you’re using a basket, leave several inches.

Water the soil thoroughly. Sprinkle on wheat berries in a single layer over the top of the soil. Sprinkle a light coat of soil over the top, just to cover the seeds. Mist with the spray bottle. Mist several times a day, and watch as the grass begins to grow!

2. Tin Can Herb Garden

You can use any empty metal can for this, such as those that have soup, fruit, vegetables, and beans in them. Don’t use soda cans as they won’t be strong enough for this.

* Several metal cans, clean and dry and sanded/filed so there are no sharp edges
* Craft foam
* Hammer
* Nail
* Soil
* Seeds or seedlings
* Hot glue gun
* Craft sticks
* Permanent marker with fine point

Turn the cans upside down. Use the hammer and nail to poke several holes in the bottom (this is an adult job). Next, wrap craft foam around the outside of the can, putting beads of craft glue as you go. Glue the seam. If you like, cut out shapes from the craft foam and glue those to the outside of the can, too.

Fill with soil and plant seeds, or put in a seedling. Write the name of the plant on the craft sticks and put them in the soil. Use herbs if possible, so your child can enjoy eating and smelling his or her craft as it grows.

3. Cuttings

Taking cuttings can be a fun learning experience for kids. Try this craft if you have plants that root easily from cuttings, such as mints, English ivy, and most herbs (particularly members of the mint family, like basil and lemon balm).

* Thriving plant
* Sharp scissors
* Small glass or plastic containers (baby food jars, miscellaneous glass bottles, and even empty eggshells will work – this is just the container for rotting the cutting, not where the finished plant will grow)
* Water, preferably rain water or filtered water

Fill your containers with water. Next, take multiple cuttings from your plant(s) of choice. Make the cutting at least 2 inches long (but no longer than 4 inches), and try to make the cut just below a leaf. Snip off this leaf, and place the cutting in the water. Roots are more likely to sprout where the leaf used to be.

Make sure at least an inch of the cutting is in the water, and that no leaves are submerged. Change the water daily and watch for roots. Once the roots are at least half an inch long, you can plant the seedling(s) in the container(s) of your choice.

How fun it is to make crafts for kids that are actually alive! We hope these gave you some good ideas to try while you celebrate spring.