Jackie Schoettle "Youth Gardening". Click to see the video from the show, it is terrific!

Here you will find fun links for the kids with heartfelt thanks to Lori Levy for all her hard work finding these sources.

Kool Kids' Links!

http://www.nwf.org/kids/

• Amazing insects for kids to learn about!
• There are many opportunities available for children to become involved with plants, gardens, or the outdoors in general. Some of these opportunities include children's programs at school gardens, botanic gardens or community gardens.
• This site contains ideas for gardening with kids.
• Fun ideas for families and kids, sponsored by Disney.
• Try telling some jokes to your friends and family
• A good site for math homework - 1st grade through college.
• An amusement park of math
• Children's butterfly site
• Flower Projects

MONARCH FACTS...

The monarch butterflies that hatch in the spring and early summer only live for a few weeks. The ones that hatch in midsummer are the ones that migrate. They live 8-9 months.

About 100 million monarchs migrate each year.
Monarchs can cluster together and thousands of them cling to one tree.
Some monarchs fly as high as 2,000 feet.
Sometimes they fly up to 12 miles an hour and almost 100 miles in one day.
A monarch can have a wing spread of 3 1/2 inches.

Take two empty toilet paper rolls and glue them together. If the eye pieces are too close together for your little one, try gluing something between the two rolls... a piece of a sponge is one idea. You may also have to wrap the rolls together with construction paper, tape, or yarn to hold them in place.

source: Julie Drake's Activities Page

SET UP AN ANT FARM

Materials:

• 2 wide-mouthed plastic jars that fit closely, one inside the other
• Sandy soil
• Sponge
• Bottle cap
• Corn syrup
• String
• Plastic wrap
• Rubber bands
• Black paper

Place the small plastic jar inside the larger one and fill the narrow gap between the two with the sandy soil. Wet the sponge and place it in the smaller jar, along with the bottle cap filled with corn syrup. Dangle several lengths of string from the soil in he larger jar to the bottom of he small jar so the ants can reach their food and water supply. Now, check around your neighborhood for ants. You'll need to find several dozen. Be careful, as certain ants do bite!

When you find the ants, put down a sheet of paper with a drop of corn syrup on it. When the ants are on the paper, quickly transfer them to the jar. Cover the mouth of the jar with plastic wrap with pinholes poked through secured with a rubber band. Wrap black paper around the jar secured with another rubber band to keep the ant farm dark. Remove he black paper in a day or two and you should see the beginnings of a network of tunnels. Add more syrup and water as needed. When you're finished observing the ants, release them back to where you found them.

source: Family Fun Magazine, Sept. 2001, p.76

CREATE YOUR OWN SOCK GARDEN

Take your youngster on a walk around the yard in seed-coated socks and you'll start to grow a garden of knowledge.

Choose a pair of socks that you won't mind getting dirty. Dampen the bottoms and help your child pull them over his feet (or shoes). Walk with your preschooler over dry grass and weeds (to ensure quicker results, toss grass seeds in a designated area). When the sock bottoms are covered with dirt, seeds, and grass, remove them carefully.

Cover the bottom of an aluminum loaf pan with potting soil and place your socks in the pan (dirty sides up); lightly cover them with 1 inch of soil. Label a wooden craft stick "My Sock Garden," place it in the dirt, and set the pan by a sunny window. Make sure you water it daily and watch for the seeds to sprout.

source: Sesame Street Parents, April 2000