Looking for an activity that involves reusable material, gardening, and craft-making? Wheat heads is a favorite activity in which kids decorate all four sides of a homemade pot with fun faces and watch as green wheat grass grows up to be the hair! Start by saving the bottom part of a rinsed milk or juice carton to make the pot (3-4 inches tall is a good size). Use a nail or other sharp object to make holes on the base for drainage. Then, have kids use paper to make a strip that will cover all four sides of the pot. Measure your paper by wrapping it around the pot. The width will depend on how tall the pot is. Cut the strip of paper and mark each of the corners of the pot with a marker as it is aligned with each side of the pot. Fold the paper where the marks are. Once you have your strip of paper with divisions marked for each face it’s time for kids to decorate it by drawing a face on each of the four big squares. Have them use colored pencils or crayons (markers will wash off when the pot is watered). Use a stapler to attach the wheat heads paper aligned to the outside of each of the four sides of the pot. Staple each of the sides to make sure it is well attached.

Next, tell the kids to fill in the wheat head loosely to the top with potting soil or compost.  Then, add a thick layer of wheat seeds on top of the soil and cover the entire area so that the wheat head grows a full head of hair. Grass seeds can sprout well without being covered with additional soil. Water the pot and in a few days it will start growing. Leave it in a sunny spot.  For younger children, you can draw the face’s outline on the paper ahead of time so they can fill it in with all the face parts. This activity offers a great opportunity for kids to explore emotions by drawing different facial expressions on the paper. Try other types of seeds such as chives to have more variety. If you don’t have a milk or juice carton you can also use a simple pot in the house to make your Wheat Head. Giving their Wheat Head a haircut once the hair has grown is a delight to kids. How about adding the wheat grass to a smoothie or some chives to the salad? 

Download Wheat Heads Lesson Page

Download Chive Hairdos Activity Card taken from our Kids’ Garden Activity Cards