Exploring the soil is a great way for children to learn how to care for Papatūānuku.
Activities to do with Soil
Activity 1
You can either fill some art trays with soil, or do this activity directly in the garden
- Provide children with magnifying glasses to inspect what is living in the soil
- Make a chart to record what they find. This might include worms, grubs, snails, slugs, insects, spiders, mites, centipedes
Activity 2
Soil science experiment
- Collect some soil from the garden
- Add a layer of pebbles to the bottom of a clear container or jar
- Put the soil on top of the pebbles (fill to about 3/4 of jar)
- Add some water to the jar or container and watch where the water goes. If the soil is sandy the water will slowly seep through onto the pebbles
- If it is heavy clay then it will pool on top of the soil
- Mix some compost with the soil and put into separate jars/containers on a layer of pebbles and watch what happens now as the water is poured in.