The Outdoors Parent

Truck Farm is running a perfect contest for the outdoors toddler this month. The challenge is simply to plant a seed in the most creative place you can think of, watch it grow, take a photo of the baby plant, and send the picture to the contest website before June 10th.  I like this contest for two reasons. The first, most preschoolers will find it a lot of fun. The Monkey, my 3.5 year old, is really interested in the changes of spring this year and loves to be silly, so planting a seed somewhere odd is a perfect activity to engage his attention.  The second, it’s a great way to teach kids about science.  By planting a seed somewhere unusual (ie not in the ground) you can talk to your kids about what seeds actually need to germinate and grow.

Contest details can be found here.

The whole Truck Farm website is also worth a peek. Ian Cheney has created a small vegetable garden in the back of a flat-bed truck and is using it to educate inner-city children about farming and healthy eating: an educational, eye-catching, and low-cost idea.