Elementary Drop-in Craft: Garden Gnome & Flowerpot

To go with the Dig into Reading Summer Reading Program theme, one of our drop-in crafts for elementary-age kids was a garden gnome and flowerpot. We had around 100 kids come through between 9-11am and 2-4pm.

The flowerpots had been purchased by the previous youth librarian -- I'm guessing last fall when gardening stuff was being clearanced out. They're biodegradable pots, so once the kids' sunflower was starting to grow, the entire pot could be planted in the ground.

The garden gnome was something I found on Pinterest. I found a bunch of wooden clothespins in my storage closet, from a SRP craft a year or two ago. We followed the original post pretty close, except we used scrap paper and glue for the hats instead of sewing little caps of felt. Oh and we didn't do the beeswax finish. It would have been a little much for 100 gnomes!

I made one a few weeks ahead of time, hoping the 
sunflower seed would sprout and the kids could see 
it. My poor little plant looked SO much better 
the day before the craft! :( 

Supplies set out on the countertop, clearly labeled!

I bought way too much dirt for this project. 

Instructions and paintbrushes out on the tables.

Since this was the first event of the SRP for the 1st-6th grade kids, and it was when they could pick up their first reading log, the day was busy and packed.

The only clothespins left at the end of the day...
whew! We cut that one close! 

Overall I think the kids had fun, made a cute craft (if their plants didn't survive, I haven't heard about it yet :) , and I survived my first big SRP event!