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You are here: Home / Archives for family activities

family activities

A Holiday Activity: Vegetable Scrap Gardens

January 2, 2013 by Erica Hargreave 2 Comments

As is tradition at Ahimsa Media, we take a few moments over the winter holidays to write up an activity for you, our wonderful community, to unwind over the holidays. This year, as News Year’s Eve has past and much of Canada is covered in a wintery wonderland, I for one am craving fresh vegetables, so I thought I’d share some fun ideas (for all ages) for turning your vegetable scraps into a kitchen garden.

These are really very simple, allowing you to dig in the dirt in the winter (which I dearly love) and reuse your vegetable scraps, creating something green and growing in the kitchen.

Before getting started, gather the following:

  • potting soil
  • small pots or clean plastic containers (with drainage holes poked in the bottom)
  • plates or plastic lids (to sit under the plastic containers, once potted, for drainage)
  • clear glasses or jars

 

Avocado Pits

Photo by Jeremy Zilar
Photo by Jeremy Zilar

The pit of an avocado is, of course, it’s seed, and as such you can grow an avocado tree from it. Here is how to get it sprouting …

You’ll need:

  • an avocado
  • a clear glass or jar
  • water
  • sturdy toothpicks

Simply,

  • Cut open the avocado (make something scrumptious with the flesh inside) and remove the pit.
  • Skewer the pit near the top (pointed side) with 3 or 4 toothpicks (like shown in the picture above) so that the toothpicks will act as a bridge over a glass of water.
  • Fill the glass with water.
  • Suspend the pit with the toothpicks over the glass of water (pointy side up), so that 2/3 of the pit is covered by water.
  • Now patiently wait, making sure the water levels stay up.  If you are successful, you should see the beginnings of roots in 3- 4 weeks.
  • After 2 weeks, you can gently peel off the outer skin of the avocado pit to speed up the process.
  • Eventually when you have a sturdy root and stem, you can transplant your avocado tree into a pot.

With a lot of loving care and a little luck, hopefully a few years down the road, you just might be able to show up at a party carrying your very own homegrown guacamole.

 

Photo by Michelle Tribe
Photo by Michelle Tribe

Sweet Potatoes

Technically, this one doesn’t use leftover vegetable scraps, but rather a full sweet potato.  I’ve decided to overlook that detail for the simple reason that I love sweet potatoes.

You’ll need:

  • a sweet potato tuber
  • a clear glass or jar
  • water
  • sturdy toothpicks

Simply,

  • Place the tuber in a jar of water, pointy end down. You can place it suspended on the jar with toothpicks, or just as is.
  • Wait a few days for the shoots (or slips as they are called) to appear.
  • Once the slips are about 4 or 5 inches long, pull them off of the tuber and place them in another little jar of water. Wait for a few more days, and little roots will appear.

Congratulations!  Your sweet potatoes are ready to plant!

 

Carrot Tops

Photo by Alice (the plastic girl)
Photo by Alice (the plastic girl)

One of the cool things about carrots and parsnips is that you can replant the tops after chopping a carrot or parsnip up, provided you leave a bit of the tuber attached.  In fact, if you look closely at a carrot or parsnip, you’ll see it has tiny hair-like structures growing on the tuber. These are roots and the reason why this works!

You’ll need:

  • carrots (or parsnips) with their tops on
  • mid-sized, clean plastic containers (with drainage holes poked in the bottom)
  • plastic lids (to sit under the plastic containers, once potted, for drainage)

Simply,

  • Cut the carrot, leaving an inch or two of the tuber at the base of the stem.
  • Place the carrot in a pot of soil, covering the tuber with soil, while leaving the green stem exposed.
  • Place in a sunny window, water regularly and transplant into a bigger pot, as necessary, as it grows.

*Apparently this works with pineapples too. I haven’t had any luck with this yet with a pineapple, but I know people that have.*

 

Roots on Your Veggies?

Photo by Janet Lackey
Photo by Janet Lackey

Many of the vegetables we purchase, have live roots on them.  Just think about the leeks and green onions you buy.  If replanted, these will grow.

You’ll need:

  • vegetables with live roots (green onions, leeks, lettuce …)
  • clear glass, jar or dish (in the case of the lettuce)
  • water

Simply,

  • Place your cut vegetable (leaving about an inch of the vegetable attached to the roots)  in a glass of water, roots down.
  • Top up the water as needed.

Before long you’ll have the beginnings of what appears to be new plants.  Either chop it up for a meal or plant them, as desired.

 

It’s Sprouting!!!

Photo by Corey Harmon
Photo by Corey Harmon

If you’re like me, then from time to time you’ll discover something sprouting in your vegetable drawer, like cloves of garlic and potatoes.  Rather then composting them, why not plant them.

You’ll need:

  • sprouting vegetables (like cloves of garlic or potatoes)
  • clean plastic containers (with drainage holes poked in the bottom)
  • potting soil
  • plastic lids (to sit under the plastic containers, once potted, for drainage)

Simply,

  • Place the sprouting vegetables in a pot of soil, covering it with soil, while leaving the green stem / leaves exposed.
  • Place in a sunny window, water it regularly and transplant into a bigger pot, as necessary, as it grows.

 

Collecting Seeds

Photo by Angela of Pillowhead Designs
Photo by Angela of Pillowhead Designs

Don’t forget those seeds in your fruit are the beginnings of new plants. Why not save them and try to germinate them in some soil.

You’ll need:

  • seeds from fruits
  • clean plastic containers (with drainage holes poked in the bottom)
  • potting soil
  • plastic lids (to sit under the plastic containers, once potted, for drainage)

Simply,

  • Fill a small pot with soil.
  • Bury fruit seeds shallowly beneath the soil
  • Place in a sunny window, water and transplant into a bigger pot, as necessary, as it grows.

Have fun planting and eating!

You can also catch up with some fun winter treats for your feathery neighbours with this post we did on Holiday Decorations for the Birds for one of our clients.

Enjoy the rest of your holidays!

Happy New Year!

~ from the gang at Ahimsa Media

Filed Under: Activities, Blog Tagged With: family activities

My Holiday Present to You: Paper Making

December 18, 2008 by Erica Hargreave 4 Comments

At Ahimsa Media, we have a winter holiday tradition of posting an environmentally friendly activity that you can do with your families.  This is our present to the many wonderful people in our lives and that we meet throughout the year.  As the Ahimsa Media site is a little out of date and doesn’t reflect our current projects, I am posting this year’s holiday activity here, and will update to Ahimsa Media, as we update the site in the New Year.  This is not just from me, but from all of the wonderful guys and gals that work with me at Ahimsa Media.

Paper Making

Papiere by pusteblume.

Photo by pusteblume

Paper making has always been a favourite holiday past time of mine, is a great way to recycle used paper, makes great gifts and is just a fun way to pass the time with family and friends of any age. Although there are times when the mess I make in the living room would cause my Dad to disagree.  That mess comes naturally to me though.  I’m guessing that most of you can do this in a much tidier fashion.

Supplies

  • Recycled Paper
  • An Old Blender
  • Bowls
  • Ladles
  • Tupperware and Recyclable Plastic Containers (yogurt, ice cream containers…etc)
  • Assorted Sizes of Elastic Bands
  • Door Screen (can be purchased cheaply from a hardware store)
  • Old Newspaper
  • Old Towels
  • Dull Knife (a plastic one is good for kids)
  • Cookie Cutters (optional)
  • Flower Petals (optional)
  • Leaves (optional)
  • Seeds (optional)

 

The Paper Scrap Box- the beginning of our papermaking by AlaskaTeacher.
Photo by Angela

Making the Pulp

Eco Art Papermaking by hensever.
Photo by Benjamin Chan
  1. Separate the paper by colour.
  2. In a blender, place two handfuls of one colour of paper with at least two cups of water. Blend. **Note – do not over fill – or else your kitchen will be covered in pulp.**
  3. Add more paper and water as needed.
  4. If you are short a particular colour, you can add white paper to augment the coloured paper.
  5. Once you have a nice papery mud like consistency, your pulp is made!!!  Pour into a bowl.
  6. Make the next colour.
Eco Art Papermaking by hensever.
Photo by Benjamin Chan

Building the Screen

  1. Get a series of different shaped tupperware / recyclable containers and cut out door screen to cover the containers with at least 2 inches of overlap on all sides.
  2. Place screen over the open side of the container.
  3. Fasten screen to the container with an elastic band and pull screen taut.
  4. Presto!  One screen done.  Make more of different sizes and shapes.
paper making by amazing_podgirl.
Photo by Amazing Podgirl

Making the Paper

  1. Place a small amount of pulp on the screen.
  2. Use a knife to spread the pulp out across the entire screen. I find this is done best in soft chopping motions. The thinner the pulp, the thinner the paper.
  3. Create designs on the pulp by using different colours, placing the cookie cutters on the screen and using them to create different coloured objects (by putting different coloured pulp in a thin layer inside the cookie cutter on the screen before removing the actual cookie cutter), and by placing leaves and flower petals on top of the pulp.
  4. Take two pieces of newspaper and fold into a size that will cover the container.
  5. Place folded paper on top of the pulp covered screen.
  6. Over a bowl, turn the container sideways, to allow the water to pour off whilst holding the newspaper firmly in place.
  7. Turn container upside down, whilst holding the newspaper in place.
  8. Carefully lift the container, leaving the pulp on the newspaper.
  9. Fold a second newspaper and cover the pulp.
  10. Fold newspaper bundle up in an old towel.
  11. If you want thin paper, place a heavy book on top of the bundle.
  12. Leave for 24 – 48 hours, then pull back the towel and newspaper to reveal your handmade paper.
Eco Art Papermaking by hensever.
Photo by Benjamin Chan

Ideas for the Kids:

  • Make extra thick paper on round yogurt containers to make paper ornaments for the tree.
  • Add seeds to the pulp and you can plant and water your paper when you are done with it.  I usually use wildflower seeds, place the paper in a sunny spot, sprinkle it with top soil and water it.

Hope you have as much fun with this as I do.  Don’t be afraid to comment or email, if you have a tip, a modification or a question.

Happy Holidays!

Erica

Filed Under: Activities, Blog Tagged With: craft, environmentally friendly, family activities

Building a Digital Pinhole Camera

September 4, 2008 by Erica Hargreave Leave a Comment

Check it out! My buddy, Richard Gustin, just designed a digital pinhole camera and is featured on instructables.com . Take a look – all the instructions are there for you to build your own! Enjoy!

read more | digg story

Filed Under: Blog, EdTech, Random Thoughts Tagged With: edtech, family activities

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