As I was preparing for the summer, and for having my girls at home with me for most of the days, I made a long list of possible activities that would stretch me out of my comfort zone, but not take me so far as to break me.
In other words, I found some easy ideas for things to do with kids (mostly on Pinterest. Where else???).
One of the projects I was particularly excited about was making a terrarium. Strictly speaking, a terrarium is a self-contained eco-system that only requires occasional watering and access to sunlight in order to thrive. Terrariums are usually fuly enclosed. I wanted to make something a little more open, like the ones I swooned over here.
So, one weekend day I sent Tim on an errand to get some of the supplies we would need to make these totally swoon-worthy and surprisingly kid-friendly pseudo-terrariums.
Here’s what we got:
We headed to Walmart in the hopes of picking up everything. But our Walmart didn’t carry succulents, so we did have to make a separate trip to a nursery to find these. At Walmart we went to the pet section to get a pretty and simple fish bowl
Ok, so the first step in how to make a terrarium is to put some dirt in the base of your fish bowl. This is a great task to give to your child.
Next, it is time to add your plants. And this is the part where I show you how I can find a way to screw up any and every project that involves any type of eye for design. Just look at how I’m winning already, folks.
Alrighty then! So we learned a few things right away: first, you may need to break up the roots of your plants quite a bit in order to get them to fit. Second, you may need another container for the beautiful and too tall plant your purchased. That’s cool…two terrariums are better than one, anyway!
Moving right along, please put the plants that will actually fit inside your container in there, and then add a little more dirt to help keep them secure.
Now it’s time to add the rocks!
One tip I have is to use a toothpick to get the rocks out of the small crevices in which they may have landed on the plants while being sprinkled all over the container.
Now sit back and admire your beautiful work. This is such a fun family project and the end result can be proudly displayed for months or with a little luck, even years to come.
And just in case you were wondering, here’s our bonus terrarium. Had to give up a vase to make it happen, but let’s be real: how often do I get flowers, anyway? Just sayin’!
Please let me know if you attempt to make a terrarium, too. I’d LOVE to see your final product!
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Thanks so much for the link up to my terrarium DIY over on my blog, Clean Slate. I’m so thrilled you were able to make this an activity you could share with your little ones!
I love your vase terrarium! I have several dollar-store vases with that shape left over from my son’s wedding rehearsal dinner – heading out to buy succulents ASAP 🙂
This is such a fun idea! I will definitely have to try it with my kids. 🙂
What a fun activity! My 5 year old would enjoy this so much. I think I may have to give this a shot over the weekend. Thanks for the idea!
I picked up a fairy garden kit – some miniature furniture and rocks – to create an indoor garden with. Still haven’t found the perfect planter to use, but that’s our next plant project. Succulents would mix up my plant life though, so may need to add your idea to our list as well!
Great idea! I used to make these. Nice bonding experience too
it turned out really cute I think
I think I’m going to incorporate this terrarium project in to our homeschooling this year thanks for sharing!
these are so pretty I would love to use them as decorations
This is so fun I did one with my daughter
sibabe64 at ptd dot net
I have ALWAYS wanted to do this! I saw one once with tiny plants and moss (not succulents, don’t ask me what they were!) that was made into a kind of woodland. I think this is next on our list of activities.
This would be so much fun to make with my grandson! He loves being a part of the planting process outside, so he would love to have his own terrarium!
I love this what a great project to do with the kids!
i will have to do this with my neice!
Way to recover using that vase–that mistake looks really great!
How fun! We even have a left over fish bowl we could use. My girls would love this!
I’ve been wanting to make a couple of these for awhile now but haven’t gotten around to it. This inspired me to try it this week, I’m putting it on my to-do list so we can do this with the kids before summer break is over. Yours came out beautifully, I’ll come back and re-post mine here. Love the idea of using various bowls and vases, too!
Very neat idea! Will have to try this with my next attempt at planting. =)