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Paints, Pots, and Plants
Grab
Terra-cotta flowerpot with saucer
Acrylic craft paints
Paintbrushes and sponges
Stencils, masking tape
Paint smock or oversized T-shirt
Potting soil
Small flower or plant
Car keys
Money
Go
Make your way to a local garden center with your daughter. Choose a medium-sized terra-cotta flowerpot and saucer. Have your daughter select a small flower or houseplant that she would like to plant in the pot.
Once you’ve returned home, have your daughter protect her clothes by wearing a paint smock. Cover your work area with newspaper. Have your daughter use a larger paintbrush to cover the flowerpot with a coat of paint. Then, when the base coat is dry, let her imagination take over! Perhaps she’ll make stripes by sticking strips of masking tape onto the pot and painting between the lines of tape. Maybe she’ll want to use stencils or make her own designs with brushes or sponges. She can even finger paint or make a colorful handprint.
When the pot is completely decorated and dry, have your daughter carefully spoon potting soil into the bottom of the pot. Place the flower or plant in the center and fill in the pot with more soil. Have your daughter carefully water the flower.
Work together to rinse out the brushes and clean up the “gardening” mess. Find a sunny spot to place the flowerpot—or even better, give someone a wonderful surprise by making it a gift!
Grow
The flower you found at the garden center was in a small plastic container. Were the roots beginning to grow out of the bottom of the container or becoming twisted around themselves? The flower didn’t have what it needed to survive for long until you came and gave it a better pot where it could thrive.
Ask your daughter the following questions:
What does the flower need to grow? (water, sunlight, soil, etc.)
What do you need to grow? (food, sleep, safety, etc.)
It is God’s plan for your daughter to grow not just in size, but in wisdom and in her relationship with God. In 2 Peter 3:18, we are encouraged to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Rather than soil, water, and sunlight, we need prayer, time in the Word, and encouragement from other Christians. How are you growing your faith this week?
Thank you for helping my daughter grow each day. I see her becoming taller and stronger, learning a lot at school, and becoming closer to the friends and family in her life. Thank you for planting a “seed” of faith in her heart. Please “water” this seed by teaching her to pray and read the Bible all the time. Surround her with others who love you and will encourage her to follow you. Help both of us to grow in “the grace and knowledge of our Lord” until the day we see you in heaven. We love you so much! Amen.