Egg Carton Garden

Assalamu alaikum,

Here is a craft that you can invite children to do to get ready for spring insha'Allah: An Egg Carton Garden.

You can start planning which seeds you'd like to plant now insha'Allah and as spring draws near, you can set out to the store and pick up your seeds and start your garden insha'Allah. For ideas for plants that grow quickly and beautifully, see this post insha'Allah.

 

You probably can't see it because of the glare but the wording on the fence says, "Allahu Akbar"

To make this project you will need::

- Egg carton (not Styrofoam) cut in half and then the part that hold the eggs was cut in half as well

- Craft Sticks/Popsicle Sticks

- Plastic Bag

- Glue (non-toxic)

- Non-Toxic Paint

- Potting soil

- Seeds of your choice

- Small watering can

To make this project:

1). After you have cut your egg carton in half, get your craft sticks and make your gate. Use a plastic bag and line up all of the sticks on this bag.

2). Apply a nice amount of glue to the sticks.

3). Gently swirl the glue around (with your fingers - kids will love this part insha'Allah..hehe) so that it covers the sticks and gets in between them as well insha'Allah. If you swirl too hard the sticks will move out of place but you can put them back easily insha'Allah.

4). Allow the stick gate to dry over night and gently peel it away from/off of the plastic bag. Paint the stick gate any colour you'd like insha'Allah. Allow the paint to dry completely. When the paint is completely dry, glue the gate to the back of the egg carton (the long part that does not hold the eggs - the cover). Allow the glue to dry completely. *You may need something to weigh the egg carton down so the stick gate dries securely against the egg carton insha'Allah. I used the bottles of paint. Place the egg carton and gate down onto the plastic - with the gate on the plastic and the egg carton sticking up in the air (and on top of the gate)and place the paint bottles on top of the egg carton against the gate. I should have taken a picture of that now that I think of it.*

5). Once the gate has dried securely to the egg carton cover, decorate your gate with cloth flowers, ceramic or foam veggies, or better yet: allow the child(ren) to paint whatever decorations they'd like on to their gate insha'Allah.

Almost done alhamdulillah!

6). Once the gate decorations are done, place your potting soil in the egg compartments, place your seeds in, cover them with additional soil insha'Allah, water and wait for a blessing from Allah to bloom before your children's eyes insha'Allah!

I put a small watering can in the space next to the soil that way the children can be responsible for watering the seeds each day insha'Allah. After they are shown how to do this, place a small amount of water in the water can each day and invite them to water the seeds insha'Allah. You may also choose to place a water dropper and a small cup of water in the tray and show the children how to fill the water dropper and place the appropriate amount of water in each compartment insha'Allah. This can help avoid overwatering the seeds/plants insha'Allah.

Once the plants start getting too big for their egg carton homes, you can take the egg carton and place it in the ground and it will dissolve without harming the environment insha'Allah. I think I may do an indoor herb garden this way too insha'Allah!

Enjoy insha'Allah!