From time to time over the past few weeks, Alice has been telling me that dinosaurs scare her. ("Dinosaurs try to scare me," is what she actually says. Then she roars.).
It's tough to know for sure what to make of it. Is she really scared of dinosaurs? Or is she really interested in dinosaurs and wanting to talk more about them? I tend to think the latter.
Either way, I thought it would be fun to take some dinosaurs down to a scale she can manipulate with a mini succulent garden.
This could be a good project for older kids - even a group of older kids - who would be able to manage the steps fairly independently and put their own creative touches on things.
What made it work so well for a toddler is that we could finish it in the space between coming home from day care and getting ready for dinner - a huge consideration when I look for crafty things to do with Alice. More than that, the activity breaks down into a few small tasks that she could handle without a ton of interference from me (She's pretty firmly in an "I do it" phase. Which I'm starting to think might not be just a phase).
Here's what you need:
A shallow bowl or dish to build the garden in - ours was about 9 inches in diameter
River rocks or pebbles
Mini succulents
Soil
Dinos
Step 1: Put a layer of river rocks, about an inch or so deep, at the bottom of your dish. (I was sure Alice would want to dump the rocks all at once. Instead, she wanted to count them out, one-by-one. Even better!)
Step 2: Gently remove the succulents from their pots, loosening the dirt with your fingers. Plant them in the dish, adding extra soil as necessary.
Step 3: Give the garden a little bit of water, embellish with some extra rocks if you want, then bring on the dinosaurs.
