Sharing Plants With Children

We have several large airplane or spider plants that have been in serious need of a haircut for a long time. Frank recently told me we were going to have to trim the largest one with the most babies before they took root in the carpet. Well, it's not quite that long, but well past time.

I didn't want to just cut off the young plants and throw them out (we have too many big plants already), so I came up with an idea. It's almost Christmas and my students at school always like to have something to take home to their parents. If I potted them up and let the kids be responsible for them for a couple of weeks before Christmas break, they would have a living present and learn something in the process.

 
So I got some of those pots that I had been saving and almost threw away when we put up the shelves on the porch. I just knew I might need them for something.

I put a layer of gravel in the bottom of this tub for drainage.


 

Then I got out my bag of recycled soil from the pot maker seedlings that didn't make it. I had put the pots in a feed sack to reuse at a later time. The soil is in great shape, I just pull out the newspaper and it's ready to go in the pots.

I filled the pots with soil and watered it in since it was a little dry.


 

Cut off a bunch of airplane plant babies......

And potted them up.

Then I took out my popsicle sticks and wrote each child's name on one and stuck it in a pot. When I got the plants to school, the kids were excited to 'discover' their plant.
 




Today the kids took their plants home to their families wrapped in paper with a ribbon. They colored Christmas cards to go with them. It was a blessing to see their excitement as they took home a living gift. Some children told me who the recipient would be and how much they liked plants and would be happy with this present. Providing someone else with the opportunity to give is a great learning experience. Modeling and instilling in children the blessing of giving, not always receiving, is well worth the time and effort it takes to accomplish. With the massive, materialistic push this time of year, it is nice to step back and use a simple item to show how much you care. There are so many opportunities that don't require a great deal. With just a little time and thought and effort, you can make a memory that will last a lifetime, and be the foundation for the blessing of giving.


Until next time - Fern