Create some potted plants, and then share the love with a delightful on-the-go garden!

We read Anywhere Farm, written by Phyllis Root, and illustrated by G. Brian Karas (Candlewick Press, 2017). Want to grow a farm anywhere? All you need is soil, sunshine, water, and a seed. From alleyways to the insides of a old trumpet, your garden will blossom and bloom! The rhymes in this book are so clever and endearing, and the illustrations are delightful depictions of gardens everywhere and anywhere. A highly recommended story time read!

You’ll need:

• Several toilet paper and paper towel tubes
• A selection of construction paper
• A selection of pipe cleaners
• Scissors, glue, and tape for construction

For the optional wagon:

• 1 large tissue box
• 1 wheel assembly (more on this below)
• 2 drinking straws (our were 10″ long)
• An 16.5″ piece of string
• 1 small rectangle of tagboard (approximately 1.25″ x 2″)

First, your garden! Cut toilet paper and paper towel tubes down to 2″. Then create plants using construction paper and pipe cleaners (we also provided , patterned tape, fabric flowers, tissue paper, and plastic buttons for decorating). We asked kids to make at least one pot that wouldn’t mind trading at the end of story time.

You can end the project with the pots, or you can take it a step further…we loved the idea of an anywhere garden on-the-go, so we crafted tissue box wagons to make things mobile! The wagon and wheel assembly instructions can be found on this post.

When the wagons were assembled, kids popped their potted plants in and we circled the library’s lobby. Everyone was invited to trade at least one pot with Katie (and we pre-made a number pots for this purpose).

Some kids also traded with each other spontaneously, which was VERY sweet!