Planting Flowers for Earth Day

The kids and I ran out this morning to buy a couple flowers to plant for Earth Day.  We have flower seeds to plant (we'll do that this afternoon), but I wanted the kids to be able to see the finished product from the seed, too.  Plus, you can never have too many flowers.

We had to plant them in the front yard to avoid our dog stomping all over them, and there is really only one spot in the front of the house that would get sun.  Since there are already bulbs in there, the kids just dug around them in open spaces to plant their new yellow and purple flowers.

Ellie was very proud of herself for planting the flowers!

I'm pretty sure every flower received about 10x the amount of necessary water thanks to Aaron!

The kids mostly worked together, which is always nice!

Here are my proud little people!  They had so much fun digging in the dirt (which they do everyday anyway), but they've never planted already-grown flowers before, so it was extra special for them today!

What fun activities have you done today for Earth day?

Dirt Cups Recipe (Great for Earth Day)

I have loved these dirt cups since I was a little kid.  My mom used to make them and I always thought they were just the coolest thing!  So, today, our Earth day recipe was Dirt Cups! Yum!  The pudding serves as the "mud", the Oreo's as the dirt, and the gummy worms as, well, the worms!

We made a double batch because we brought the to Ben's work, but for a regular sized batch you will need:

2 cups milk

1 small box instant chocolate pudding

1 package Oreos

1 small tub Cool Whip

Gummy Worms

Clear cups (preferably)

Place 1/2 a package of Oreos in a Ziploc baggie.  If your kids are helping you, you may want to put a few Oreos each in several bags so they can all participate!  Crush them up with your hands or with a rolling pin.  We leave the cream filling in, but you can scrape it out if you don't want the white in there. We crush ours until they are in small pieces or crumbs.  Small chunks of the cookies are okay.

  

In a bowl, whisk together the pudding, milk, and about 2/3 - 1 whole tub of Cool Whip.  Allow it to set for about 2 minutes to thicken a bit.  Stir again.

Now, in your clear cups, have your little helpers aid you in layering pudding and Oreos until you run out.  We typically are able to make 2 layers of each.  

Finally, top it all off with some gummy worms!  We have also done gummy bugs (I can usually find them at WalMart), which the kids enjoy, too.  Refrigerate until you're ready to eat them!

Note: The Oreos will get soft if these sit for a long time.  We don't mind next-day dirt cups, but if you want your Oreo's to be crunchy, you'll want to wait to make these until just before you want to eat them.

Happy Earth Day!