• Homemade Chia Garden House

    60 Minutes | All | Indoors

    Create a sprouting sponge house as a reminder of how important it is for all families across the world to have safe and protective shelter



    Download Worksheet

    Homemade Chia Garden House

    60 Minutes | All | Indoors
    Download Worksheet
    You will need

    • 4 colourful sponges
    • Scissors
    • Toothpicks
    • Small bowl
    • Shallow dish
    • 3 tbsp
    • Seeds (chia, alfalfa and/or wheat berry)
    • Water
    • Misting spray bottle

    Instructions

    1. The homes of children living in poverty can look a lot of different ways
    2. Some have roofs made from ribbed metal sheets, and others have roofs made from thatching—but one thing these homes have in common is that they can often leak and let in rain, which can cause damage to their belongings or even sickness
    3. This is especially the case for those who live in countries that experience a lot of flooding!
    4. Create a sprouting sponge house as a reminder of how important it is for all families across the world to have safe and protective shelter
    5. Put yourself in another family’s shoes—imagine how it would feel to see water rising up around your home and coming down from above!
    6. Cut three sponges in half
    7. Take one of the halves and cut it in half again
    8. These smaller halves will be your front and back walls
    9. Your fourth sponge will be the base of your home
    10. Insert a toothpick into the sponge that will be your front wall, leaving an 2 5cm of toothpick exposed
    11. Push the exposed toothpick into the base sponge so it stands up
    12. Use toothpicks to set up the rest of your walls, using two toothpicks each for the longer sidewalls
    13. Once your walls are set up, push a toothpick into the top of each sidewall, leaving 2cm of the toothpick exposed
    14. Then stick on two pieces of sponge to be your roof, angling them inward
    15. In a small bowl, mix 2tbsp of seeds with a little water to make a thick mixture
    16. Use a butter knife to spread the mixture over your roof
    17. Then spread some on the base sponge around the outside of the house
    18. Place your house in a shallow dish
    19. Pour a little water into the dish around the base sponge
    20. Each day add some water to the bottom of your dish
    21. Once or twice a day, mist all the sponges with water
    22. In a couple of days, your seeds will start to sprout
    23. Water it daily to keep it growing & trim any exposed toothpicks as you go

    Safety

    • Always remain aware of your surroundings and follow local COVID-19 advice, including the Hands / Face / Space / Ventilation guidance.
    • If you’re meeting online, check out the advice on using Zoom and other popular digital platforms and the guidance on being safe online.
    • To help others do activities safely over Zoom, check out the example risk assessments and remember to make sure those taking part understand any care that needs to be applied.
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