Green High Five

This is a mini life lesson disguised as a fun activity.  It's easy to do with children, and doesn't need to much in the way of resources.


What You’ll Need:

  • A seed tray.

  • Compost.

  • Grass seed.

  • Water and a watering can.

  • protection for your clothes ... this could get messy !

  • Your hand !

Making your 'Green High Five' !

  1. Gather together everything listed above all the equipment in an open space outdoors, or on a table indoors.

  2. Fill your pot or seed tray with compost and press down gently all over. Smooth the surface so it’s nice and smooth.

  3. Using a watering can, gently water the compost so that it is damp.

  4. Now take your hand and press it firmly, fingers spread apart, into the compost so that you can clearly see your handprint.

  5. Now scatter grass seed carefully within the indent made by your hand.

  6. Put the pot somewhere sheltered and water daily. Watch your handprint appear!

  7. Maintain the handprint by trimming it and watering it daily !


So why is this a mini life lesson ?

Planting grass seed can benefit children in a number of ways—both practical and personal:

  • Learning responsibility – They have to water, care for, and watch over the seeds.

  • Patience – Grass doesn’t grow overnight, so they learn to wait and see progress over time.

  • Connection with nature – They get hands-on experience with soil, plants, and the life cycle.

  • Physical activity – Digging, planting, and watering keep them moving.

  • Science skills – They observe how plants grow and what they need (light, water, nutrients).

  • Pride and accomplishment – Seeing the grass grow gives them a sense of success.

  • Calm and mindfulness – Spending time outdoors with plants can reduce stress and boost mood.

This activity is not one where the children immediately get the 'reward' of a job well done.  The task promotes patience. and an appreciation of the natural world !
This video demonstrates a simple den being built by a dad and his son.
This video demonstrates a range of shelters being built by a small group of children

Developing the activity

Of course, children may want to do more than just 'hand' shapes in the grass.  They could do their feet !  Or they could just press any shape into the compost.

If they have a garden with a large area needing qrassed, they could even make an impression of their whole bodies into the compost !  Expand that idea further and they could have 2 or 3 of them forever growing in grass !!!

You could even sow grass seeds in the shape of a hand, and, once the grass is growing, plant a flower in the middle of the palm !

(Some flowers, though, need more compost to grow that there would be in a seed tray, so it would have to be just a small flower !)

Points to ponder ...

This is a quick and easy task to undertake.  It does, though, mean that for a few weeks, you will have seed trays taking up valuable space, needing to be watered daily and needing to looked after, so it is not an undertaking to be taken lightly.

The benefits, though (outlined above), make this a worthwhile task.

You could also use other kind of seed instead of grass ... cress might be a good example !  And they can eat it afterwards !


Delayed Gratification.

We live in a world where we all want things NOW !  We complain if someone doesn't reply to a d.m. immediately, or if we are told that out latest Amazon delivery will take TWO WHOLE DAYS to get to us.  We have become a society where we expect things to happen immediately (instant gratification), and that's not healthy !

This task teaches children that sometimes we have to wait to see the 'fruits of our labours'.  This is a valuable life lesson.  Sometimes they need to learnt to wait, and that's ok !

How does this activity relate to S.T.E.M ?

Science.
  • Plant growth
  • Seed Germination