Anyone would have thought Jack had learned his lesson after that beanstalk and giant hoo-hah. This summer he’s more into massive plants than ever before! And he’s calling on Moms, Dads, Grandparents, Aunties, Uncles and children all over the nation to get involved in growing an enormous sunflower for his collection. Yes, Jack’s gone mad for those yellow, heliotropic beauties that have come to mean sun glorious sun for anyone who claps eyes on them across the land.
With quick germination they are particularly great for children as they can plant their stripey black and white seeds and in a matter of months they have a plant that is much taller than them!!
Sunflower-growing tips:
- Plant your seeds in separate pots and give them plenty of room to reach their potential.
- Grow them somewhere with as much sun as possible – and we mean LOTS OF SUN. Against a south-facing brick wall can create nice little heat trap for your champions to grow up big and strong.
- Sunflowers are thirsty and they need to be watered on a daily basis. So, keep that soil moist and set your children the task of monitoring water levels.
The fun isn't over once the sunflower starts to die off either as you can use tweezers which is great for fine motor skills for the children to remove the seeds from the centre of the flower. You can then use the seeds for sensory play, arts and crafts, keepsakes, use them to feed the birds, you can save some for the following year to plant again, or even eat them!
It’s a great way to make gardening and the natural world interesting to your children, sure, but also, who can resist a little competitive sunflower-growing between well-meaning family members?
This summer holiday, we Get Out and Grow ambassadors would like to stir up some friendly sunflower-rivalry between mums and dads and kids ourselves and we’ve called the competition ‘Jack and the Giant Sunflower’ or #jackandthegiantsunflower to those of you on the ‘gram.
Come and get yourselves involved and send us a picture of your prize sunflower next to your proud little (or big) gardener and tag me - @learningthroughplay8, #getoutandgrow, #sudocrem and anyone else you’d like to be involved for a chance to win a mural for your children’s school – chosen by Sudocrem, a bespoke sunflower t-shirt – chosen by me, as well as Jack’s giant seal of approval.
A great bit of fun and a chance to show off what you’ve been working hard nurturing over the summer. I can’t wait to see all your fabulous sunflower pictures!
No comments:
Post a Comment