SMART LIVING
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Little ones love wearing wellies in the garden, so get them to customise their own. Paint Your Own Funky Wellies kits, ÂŁ13.64 (650-7661), contain a pair of boots and paint pens that, once dry, are waterproof and ready to splash about in!
Roll out old wallpaper on the grass, pattern-side down, pour poster paint into big tubs, then challenge youngsters to make a mural. Twigs become brushes, leaves turn into stencils, potatoes become stamps to print with. Toddlers can join in with hand and footprints, too. Visit rhs.org.uk for more garden craft ideas.
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KIDS
GARDENING
WORDS ALISON PALMER, SARAH JAGGER PHOTOGRAPHY ANT DUNCAN PROP STYLING REBECCA NEE
Plant a herb pot. Get little ones to see if they can remember the names by their scent. Talk about which foods they go well with and have fun cooking with them. Find lots of growing ideas at gardeningwithchildren.co.uk.
Build a bee hotel for your buzzy friends. Take a plant pot and a bundle of plastic straws cut to a similar depth. Tie the straws together and stick into the base of the pot using modelling clay. Lay it on its side and watch the bees move in.
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Help young kids to create a magical garden for their toys. Visit the nursery and let them choose cheap alpine plants, then go for a walk to collect stones, feathers and twigs for decoration.
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Shed full of unwanted clutter? Get your teen to help clear it out, then suggest they e make a den in th em th t Le e. ac sp decorate it and drape fabric over t garden equipmen . ep ke to ed ne you
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Learning to compost is a great science project for kids aged eight and above. All they need to begin is an old bin with the bottom cut out, so the waste touches the soil. Visit ecofriendlykids.co.uk to see which materials can be used for compost, how to control pests and all the ways you can use the finished product around the garden.
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Use spray paint to make coloured circles in rows on the grass for a game of lawn Twister!
Give each child a clean yogurt pot and see who can fill it with the most unusual items from the garden in 10 minutes. This is a great team game, too.
Glow-inthe-dark bowling is great for a sleepover. Fill 10 bottles with water, put a glow stick (from toy shops) in each one and return the lids. Start bowling!
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