Parenting for Beginners

This project is a truly unique kids party activity, combining fun, fantasy, and learning. Kids love getting their hands dirty and learning how things grow. They will also love the idea of making a magical garden place for a fairy to live.

A miniature garden takes little space and can rest on a tabletop. Maintenance requires only a light misting from time to time and watching for fairies to come to call. Just kidding about that last part, but you never know…

Start by collecting various containers such as woven baskets, large shallow bowls or deep dish clay saucers (like a birdbath), or even discarded bureau drawers. Check yard sales for innovative ideas and inexpensive materials.

Next, supply potting soil and a selection of small plants that will reach under a foot when fully grown. Dwarf zinnias, marigolds, violets, ivy, baby’s tears and sprigs of vinca are all good choices. There are many types of mosses that will work nicely too, fitting into corners and small areas easily to add texture and interest. A variety of low-growing herbs such as thyme and rosemary lend aroma to the mix as well.

Start by lining your garden container with heavy duty plastic, fill to within an inch of the top with potting soil then kids are ready to landscape the top. Let them choose their favorite diminutive plants, interspersing them with various materials to add charm and character to the fairy garden.

For example, turn a colorful plant pot on its side and submerge it halfway in the soil to serve as a proper fairy dwelling. Add dollhouse sized furniture to set in the garden, popsicle sticks to construct a fairy fence, or small flat rocks to make a wonderful stepping stone path.

A small mirror symbolizing water making a faux gazing pool. The round flat glass beads
used in vases make nice accent pieces too. Tiny garden accessories like terra cotta pots and shovels give your garden a “lived-in” look.

Fairy gardens needn’t be for little girls only. Boys can make a miniature dinosaur den using many of the same materials. Herbs, moss and other green plants can make a forest or wooded area in which small plastic dinosaurs return from extinction to live another day. Soil mounded to one side forms a volcano, spilling red aquarium stone lava.
A construction site garden is another option for boys. Tiny rocks, stick logs, and craft stick lumber can be stacked up waiting for the big rigs to move them. Small toy bulldozers and cranes can be scattered about, among the plantings.

These whimsical gardens can go wherever your child’s imagination takes them. You provide the materials, they supply the ideas and creativity. Planting and maintaining a miniature garden teaches kids about plants, caring for living things, and most all the fun of gardening.

Copyright 2005 Kids Party Paradise All Rights Reserved

Author: Tony

Play is the language of children and an essential part of a child`s learning and development. It serves as a channel for their creativity in which a child can express his thoughts and emotions. Children learn more during their early years by playing with educational toys. As children play with toys, they acquire new skills and improve their existing ones.

Parents too play a crucial role in motivating a child`s development. During this important time, it is their responsibility to provide an environment for physical and intellectual growth. Every parent wants to give their child a head start when it comes to their early development, and there are many educational toys available that can stimulate your child to grow and develop in fun and playful ways.

An educational toy can be anything that provides knowledge and develops skills for learning. Many educational toys provide an enjoyable medium to learn effectively. These toys must stimulate the child.s imagination during play to be effective. Interactive toys are some of the best educational and fun toys for a child. They usually stimulate and entertain the child so that they can learn while having fun.

There are educational toys available on the market for all age groups. Educational toys offer the best ways to help a child learn and have fun simultaneously. Although educational computer games are good for children they should still be used in moderation.

Computer games are a fun way to help your child learn new things and do better in school. Providing appropriate games and letting your child decide when to play while setting time limits will maximize the benefits of these great educational resources.

There are many online merchants that offer educational toys on the Internet. People can easily access their websites and search for brand name toys. The most popular educational toys offered nowadays on the Internet are kid`s laptops. These laptops are a good as they make little kids computer savvy at a young age. There are also other electronic learning toys for kids of all ages that provide a complete learning experience.

Climbing structures, puzzle blocks, balloons, interactive dolls, toy bikes, and cars designed for their size, puppets and stuffed toys, colored building blocks, peg boards, pedal toys and swings are some of the educational toys. These toys provide physical and mental exercises, developing the body muscles and brain cells, including thinking and logical capacity. Let the children enjoy the pleasure of being a child, have the freedom to play and have fun!