A zen garden is a style of gardening dating back to the 6th century in Japan that was first created by Zen Buddist monks as a aid to meditation. This was an idea I brought home from Connect 2018.
Materials:
- A small tin or container with a tight fitting lid
- Course sand (with a large enough group you may want to offer a choice of colours)
- plastic cocktail forks or other items to be used as tools
- garden decorations which could include pretty rocks, shells, crystals or tiny bits of driftwood.
Instructions:
- Before starting this activity you might want to have a discussion about how being outdoors and looking at natural things can help with our mental health. This craft lets you take a little bit of that with you even if you find yourself in a situation were getting out into nature isn’t possible.
- Fill your container about one third with sand.
- Uses the tool (cocktail fork) to smooth out the sand. Then draw lines in it (straight or curved).
- Add a few decorative items to complement the lines. Don’t over crowd it.
- When you are done, tuck the fork into the container and attach the lid. Now you can take your garden with you and set it up whenever you’d like.
Here is a similar idea from the blog: Projects with Kids:
Girl Guide Adventures 