April: Succulent Pot Painting
This is a great way to introduce sustainability to teens. Giving teens their own plant to take care of can introduce them to gardening and giving them the tools to decorate it makes it a fun decoration as well. Succulents are a fairly low-maintenance plant-they really only need to be watered a few times per week. Using glass jars allows for an easy application for acrylic paint as well.
Details
Audience: Teens and Tweens
Popular Topics:
Arts and Crafts
STEM
Theme/Subjects:
Sustainability
Arts and Crafts
Total Budget: $119.97
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This program will not take very long to plan out, but you might have to make an extra trip to find the succulents themselves. The planning phase would include gathering all the materials needed, repotting the succulents into the jars, and then setting up the room for painting. I went on Pinterest and found different ways to decorate plants in jars, and that’s where I found the inspiration for this project.
PREP STEPS:
Gather plant materials
Succulents (Available at Home Depot, Lowe’s, and other Home and Garden stores)
Dirt (Also available at Garden Centers)
Glass mason jars
Gather Painting Materials
Acrylic Paint
Paintbrushes
Paper plates
I drove to Home Depot and found small succulents for $3 each, and then found the mason jars.
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In my library, we have a program called Low Mow May, where we encourage patrons to mow their lawns less during the month of May in order to support the naturally occurring biodiversity within their lawns. I would tie this program to Low Mow May for a sustainability theme.
BUDGET DETAILS: -
DAY-OF ACTIVITY
Repot succulents in acrylic jars. Each pot should have enough dirt to cover the roots of the plant.Put out paint, paintbrushes and paper plates.
Program Execution:
There are certain prompts that you can use to guide how participants paint their jars, but giving them free reign is really fun. I love being able to give the teen materials and then see what they come up with.
