We’ve all had our share of rainy days this spring. So, what to do when the temperature plummets (yet again), the wind whips and rain drums against the windows? I squeezed into three layers of clothes, dreading my three hours in the raw, biting cold. Happily upon arrival, I discovered that Stephanie, our expert farmer, had planned an inside gardening task.
Some call them “Seed Bombs” and others call them “Flower Bombs.” The idea began when forests were destroyed by wild fires. How to reseed and plant all the crags and crevices of mountainous terrain posed a significant challenge. Some brilliant individual came up with the idea of sticking seeds in little clay balls and tossing them strategically from an airplane. The ball is heavy enough to get pulled to earth (Seeds alone have the potential to fly for miles beyond the targeted locale). Compost and soil are mixed into the clay orb so all the nutrients required upon landing are present for the seeds to germinate and grow.
Flower Bombs are the ammunition of choice in “Gorilla Farming.” Folks walk around the city and when they encounter an abandoned lot or other such eye sore, they toss their seed bombs. Our kids planned on bringing their bombs home to beautify their yards.
Equipment:
Clay (Natural-not Plasticine)- Seeds
- Tiny cups (such as pill cups) to hold seeds
- Compost
- Soil
Directions:
Presort seeds into cups (we gave a mini-cup to each child)- Roll out small clay balls
- Work in soil and compost by pressing, rolling and kneading
- Press seeds into the outside of the ball (approximately 6 per ball)
- Place on a tray to dry (at least 24 hours)
- Have fun “bombing” the neighborhood with the seeds!
Benefits:
- Great Tactile Activity!
- Requires a refined Pincer Grasp to manipulate seeds
- Looking for tiny seeds mixed in with dirt is a Figure Ground Task
- Two hands are required; thereby building Bilateral Motor Coordination
- Hands and Eyes need to work together, strengthening the eye hand connection
- Reinforces agriculture concepts (Seeds need food and space to grow)
- It’s FUN!!!!
This post reflects the partnership and creative collaboration between The Motor Story, Sustainable CAPE and Truro Recreation.
Yes, encourage kids to garden and have fun in the process. No, don’t relate it to a terrorist activity that has so badly hurt the people of Boston, for example. Can you find another phrase to use instead of bombs? Maybe a target game of some sort.
Thanks for the FB…we’ll call them by the real name “Flower Bombs”…moving on with a positive spin to a word that sadly connotes loss and chaos instead of growth and beauty.