Need a Fresh and Inexpensive Idea For Mother's Day?

A few years ago for Mother’s Day it seemed like every student brought home a marigold for their mom. In fact each of my 3 children brought home one too. While I love the marigolds, it seems a wasted learning opportunity if they plant the same things every year. That is why in my classroom we plant our mothers windowsill herb gardens. It is cheap, easy, and different. With these herb gardens your student’s gifts will stand out!

Here is how to plant your herb gardens for Mother’s Day:

1. Go to your local garden center and purchase seeds for 4 different types of herbs, and a large bag of potting soil.

2. Have each of your students collect their milk cartons from the cafeteria for 4 days. Have them wash out the cartons each day and cut off the tops like this:

3. Staple the cartons together in groups of four like this:

4. Fill the cartons half way full with potting soil. Using a sharpie pen, label each container for the herb you are planning on planting inside it. Then plant some herb seeds in each of the containers and place them on a window sill.

5. Right before Mother’s Day cut lengths of bulletin board or contact paper paper the size needed to go around each of the groups of milk cartons. Have students decorate their strip of paper to decorate their planters and either glue, or tape it to the milk carton.
6. Have students attach a Mother’s Day message onto the end of a bamboo skewer and stick it in the milk carton planter near the middle. You can get some free printable signs by clicking here:

A few tips for Mother’s Day gift success:

Plan ahead and be sure there is enough time for plants to sprout before being sent home.
It is a good idea not to have students decorate their cartons until it is almost time to take them home, so that they don’t accidentally pour water or soil on the cartons and ruin the decorations.
It is a good idea to plant a few back up plantings just incase someone’s gets overturned or doesn’t sprout.