One more thing I'll add to my post even though it has NOTHING to do with butterflies...I have to show y'all our homemade Chia-Pets! I got this idea from my dear friend Cindy who was my mentor at my old school. She had this idea, and we took it a step further this year....
Materials needed:
- Panty Hose cut in 1/2 (I bought a 12 pair pack of knee-highs this year from K-Mart for $5 and we only used 1/2 of the pack!)
- Good potting soil
- Winter Rye Grass Seed (I can always find it at my local hardware store or nursery)
- Small Styrafoam cups (don't get the paper cups because the water at the bottom will leak after a few days)
- Googlie Eyes!
- Glue Dots
- Colorful Yarn
Directions:
- Tie a knot in the top part of the knee highs that have 2 open ends (the 1/2 that have the toe are fine - no knot needed)
- Mix grass seed with a little bit of soil (maybe a cup or two of soil max!) and soak it over night in water. Drain the water the next day.
- Take a panty - hose and stretch it over your hand like a sock
- Grab about 1/4 cup of grass seed and make sure it stays at the top of the hose
- Grab another BIG handful of soil
- Take the hose off of your hand and secure the bottom with a knot (make sure you have a very tight ball of seed/soil before you tie the knot (you'll have a thin string of panty-hose that hangs down - DO NOT cut this off! It will act as a wick for water later)
- Pour some water in the bottom of a cup.
- Place the seed/soil ball on top of the cup, making sure that the "wick" reaches the water.
- Put a glue dot on the back of each of two googlie eyes and stick them onto the front of the ball.
- For Girls: Use the balls that have a knot in the top and bottom, and tie a piece of yarn on the top knot
- For Boys: Use the balls that have the toe-end of the hose for a smooth head of hair :o) Use a glue dot to glue a bow-tie to the top of the cup.
- Put the cups in a sunny window and watch them grow!
*We let our students draw clothes on the front of their cups. Because You can only make one ball at a time, this keeps the other students in the group occupied. When we did this project, my teacher assistant had the "art center" children with her, so there were 3-4 in a group each day.
**We did not soak our seeds this year so it took 3 weeks before our grass grew! Last year we soaked the seeds and they grew within the week.
***Students can cut their chia-pets' hair and it will grow back.
****Make sure to pour out the water in the cups before sending them home with the students (Yes, I learned this from experience!) :o)
Have fun! They are so cute and so easy!!! Perfect ending to our plant unit! :o)
how long did it take for the grass to grow
ReplyDeleteMaybe 3-5 days...you need to soak the seeds in water 24 hours before you plant them. It softens the seed coats and helps them grow quicker. If you don't soak the seeds, it takes up to 2 weeks for them to sprout (I am speaking from experience!) ;o)
ReplyDeleteDid you wet the whole sock (with soil & seeds) before (or when) you placed it into the cup?
ReplyDeleteWe wet it after the seeds and soil are inside and it is knotted up. We kind of roll it around in the water to get it nice and saturated on top. Then put it in the cup so that the little tail can reach and wick up the water. :o)
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