Hello my
Benny Members and Friends.
I am so sorry
it has been so long since my last Blog. Unfortunately, I have been poorly and
had to go to hospital with Mummy to see my lovely Doctor. As always, he has made me better, told me
that I must make sure I drink plenty of water, eat healthy foods, exercise and
have fun!
When your
body doesn’t have enough water, this is called dehydration. This can
stop you from being as energetic as you would like and remembering things can
be trickier – it happens to me. So keep that water bottle handy when the
weather warms up and your body will be able to do all its wonderful, waterful
jobs and help you feel great!
So, with the
new month of May marking the end of the cold winter season and the beginning of
some sunshine, I already feel energetic and ready to enjoy the spring and
summer months ahead.
Don’t you
love this time of year? Butterflies, flowers and playing outside for longer
with the lighter evenings; what could be better? Daddy said the only sad thing about
his garden, is the only flowers in bloom are dandelions!
So we have
come up with a plan to help the garden look alive, pretty and help feed the
birds and insects next year.
How?
We are going
to grow sunflowers, which are fast growing and can grow taller than me! The
flowers are huge and are great for the wildlife – they attract bees and other
insects. The birds will also eat the seeds in the autumn. Or you could collect
the seeds and keep them to plant again next year.
Why are
they called Sunflowers?
Sunflowers
are named because their flowers look like the sun and the flowers themselves
follow the movement of the sun during the day. This means they face to the east
in the morning and the west in the afternoon – you watch how they turn their
heads.
The sunflower
‘flower’ is made up of over 2,000 individual tiny flowers that are joined
together on a base. The large petals on the outside of the flowers are called
‘ray’ flowers, just like the ‘rays’ of the sun.
I found this
little poem about a Spring Garden – which Daddy loved and we have been
singing it together whilst we have been planting the sunflower seeds.
Here is my little garden
Some seeds I’m going to sow.
Here is my rake to rake the ground
Here is my handy hoe.
Here is the big, round yellow sun;
The sun warms everything.
Here are the rain clouds in the sky;
The birds will start to sing.
Little plants will wake up soon,
And lift their sleepy heads;
Little plants will grow and grow
In their little, warm earth beds.
Daddy has
given me my own little patch of garden to look after. He says it will help me
understand how important it is to look after plants. Like us they need 7 basic
things to help them keep healthy and grow.
They are:
- Water
- Air
- Light – plants and people wouldn’t grow very well if
they lived in the dark all the time
- Food or nutrients
- Temperature – keeping warm when it is cold and
keeping cool when it is hot
- Room to grow – with plants make sure the pot is big
enough for the roots, with us, Daddy says – make sure our shoes are big
enough!
- Time – things don’t happen overnight – be patient and watch the plants grow and bloom
How to Grow your Sunflower
Ask Mummy or
Daddy to buy some sunflower seeds from the garden centre. They are very tiny and sometimes not all the
seeds will make a flower. So make sure
you have a few seeds ‘to sow’ (plant).
It is still a
little chilly outside, especially at night, so you can ‘sow’ your seeds indoors
to start with and keep them in at night, putting them outside in the sunshine
during the day. This way they can get used to the outside temperature gradually
and be ready to transfer them into a bigger pot as they grow stronger.
- Find a small pot – perhaps a
yoghurt pot or flowerpot, making sure that it has a few holes in the
base. This helps any water the
plant doesn’t drink soak away. We
don’t like standing in water, why should your plants?
- Fill the pot with some compost
(food or nutrients) and press one seed into each pot, covering lightly
with some more compost
- Give the pot a light ‘drink’ of water
and place the on a windowsill
with plenty of sunshine (temperature), light and warmth
- Once the seedlings have reached
about 5cm, they can then be planted into a bigger pot, or outside in the
garden (if it warm enough) – where they can begin to grow in the fresh air
- Remember to water the plant
regularly and give the seed time to grow – be patient!
- Watch the sunflower grow and
grow, remembering to keep measuring – perhaps once a week. As the
sunflower grows taller, it may need some help to stay upright. Ask a grown up to tie a small ‘support’
to the stem – this will help it balance.
Have I
remembered the 7 basic things to keep a plant healthy and help them to
grow?
But……..
Don’t forget
to look at the seed each day and check it doesn’t get too dry on the
windowsill. It may need some more water every few days – and watch for the
first ‘peeping’ of the sunflower shoots through the soil.
I have made a
calendar for May – which helps remind me when I planted the seed, when I
watered it and most importantly, as it gets bigger, how tall it is. Perhaps we can have a competition to see who
can grow the tallest sunflower – I am sure it won’t be long before my sunflower
is bigger than me! How about yours? I
would love to see some photos and I can post them on Benny’s Blog.
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Happy Growing
– check out my first picture.
Do you like
my Sunshine Handprint in the picture?
I made that too – but Daddy told me I need the real sunshine – but I
thought it looked fun anyway.
You will need:
- A paper plate
- Pencil
- Yellow or orange paper
- Scissors
- Glue or glue stick
- Marker pens or paint
- Take a paper plate and draw or paint on a happy face.
- Using some yellow paper, ask Mummy or Daddy to help draw around your hand – (you will need about 7 handprints in all). Or you could use Mummy and Daddy’s handprints as well.
- Asking a grown up – using scissors, cut out the handprints
- Stick them around the outside of the paper plate
- Hang your Sunshine Handprint in the window and think of the lovely spring and summer days ahead
Keep sending
in your pictures, ideas and stories – I love to hear all about my members and
friends.
Remember, I
have over 600 members and would love to encourage your friends to join our Club
– tell them about the fun activities and stories they can read too.
Benny’s Blog
will be posted at the beginning of each month – looking at things happening in
the weeks ahead, activities to do and things to look for – don’t forget to
check.
Until next
month
Keep on BEING BRILLIANT!
