Soil Sammy

Need a fun activity for kids? This activity can be used for a range of ages form 2^nd grade to even high school age. This is a great experiment for quick results. I actually got this from a presentation from a program called “Ag in the Classroom.” It is a great program to help give kids an understanding of agriculture and involve different areas of study like math and science. This link will take you straight to their website, http://www.agintheclassroom.org.  So to get things started, lets grab the materials to make a Soil Sam.

Materials Needed:

·         Knee high hose

·         Grass seeds

·         Potting soil

·         Baby food jar

·         Water

·         Jiggle eyes

·         Fabric

1.       Using the knee-high hose, place some grass seeds in the toe where you want the grass to grow. The toe of the hose is the head of the Soil Sammy and the grass will look like hair as it grows.

2.       Pack a handful of soil in the end of the hose on top of the grass seeds. Make sure the ball of soil is slightly bigger than the opening of the baby food jar.

3.       Tie a knot in the stocking under the ball of soil.

4.        Completely wet the head of the Soil Sammy. Place the top of the hose (which is the bottom of the Soil Sammy) in the baby food jar filled with water making sure the head is above the mouth of the jar. The end of the hose will absorb water to feed the seeds, which will germinate through the hose. (you may have to cut a few holes in the hose to help.)

5.       Now you can decorate! Suggestions are a round piece of fabric to fit over the mouth of the jar to use as a shirt. You can add buttons to the shirt and jiggle eyes on the face and cut out felt for the mouth.  Water as needed and make sure to cut the grass “hair” to the length desired.