Top 10 Activities to Bring The Secret Garden to Life
By Lily | Published 19 June 2023 | Book titles and covers are affiliate links.
We’ve curated a list of educational games and activities inspired by The Secret Garden. Be sure to try some (or all!) of these ideas to make reading fun for your child, while creating special memories for your family along the way!
Unlock the wonders of The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett with our Top 10 book-themed activities! Unleash your family’s creativity, embark on nature hunts, and create beautiful crafts inspired by this enchanting story. From creating a terrarium to planting a garden, dive into the world of Mary, Colin, and Dickon, and let your imagination bloom!
Perfect for families seeking to extend the joy of reading while fostering togetherness!
Activity 1: Plant a garden, inside or outside!
Just like Mary and Colin, create a secret garden in your backyard or in a container. Let your child choose the plants they want to grow and help them plant and tend to the garden. This is a great way to bring the story to life and get kids interested in gardening. You can start small with a few potted plants or go all out and create a large outdoor garden. Make sure to include some of the same flowers and plants that are mentioned in the book, such as roses, daffodils, and narcissus.
Inspired by the book's title, create a garden in your backyard or in planters. Kids can choose their favorite flowers or herbs to plant and care for. For younger children, you can start by planting simple and easy-to-grow plants like sunflowers, marigolds, or herbs in small pots or containers. You can also involve them in watering and caring for the plants.
Here are 9 wonderful and easy plant DIYs for children to decorate your house or garden, from @5-Minute Crafts PLAY.
Activity 2: Make a Secret Garden Hideaway
Create a cozy hideaway in your backyard or a quiet corner of your home using blankets, pillows, and fairy lights. Kids can decorate the space with their own artwork or crafts. Create a simpler version of the hideaway using a small tent or teepee with soft cushions and a few fairy lights or decorations. Younger children can use it as a cozy reading nook or a place to play with their toys.
Activity 3: Make paper flowers
Making paper flowers can be a delightful and engaging activity for kids and families, especially after reading The Secret Garden. Just like the garden in the story, this craft allows your kids to bring nature's beauty indoors. It's also a chance to get creative and use paper to make colorful and unique flowers that can brighten up any space. Experiment with different shapes, sizes, and colors to create your own secret garden of paper blooms. It's a hands-on activity that promotes imagination, fine motor skills, and artistic expression.
Additionally, it provides an opportunity to discuss the themes of growth, renewal, and the transformative power of nature, which are central to The Secret Garden. As you craft the flowers, you can reflect on the magic of gardens and the beauty that can be found when we nurture and care for living things. Overall, making paper flowers is a wonderful way to extend the experience of "The Secret Garden," allowing you to immerse yourself in its themes while having fun and being creative together as a family.
Activity 4: Organize a picnic
Pack a basket with some sandwiches, fruit, and a thermos of tea, and head outside for a picnic. Find a quiet, secluded spot to enjoy your meal, just like Mary and Colin did in the book. For younger children, have a teddy bear picnic: Host a picnic with your child and their favorite stuffed animals. Serve simple snacks like fruit, crackers, and juice boxes.
Be sure to watch these picnic hack ideas from @Emily Norris to make sure the picnic is a huge success!!
Activity 5: Create a Nature Journal
Encourage kids to observe and draw nature around them. They can create a nature journal with sketches and notes about the plants and animals they see in their backyard or on nature walks. Provide younger children with a nature journal that has simple prompts and spaces for them to draw and write. You can also use stickers or stamps to make it more fun. Encourage your child to keep a nature journal like Mary does in the book. They can draw and write about the plants and animals they observe in their backyard or at a park.
Activity 6: Create a terrarium version of The Secret Garden
The Secret Garden explores themes of nature, growth, and the transformative power of gardening. Engaging in a hands-on project like creating a terrarium allows children to apply the concepts they learned from the book while fostering their creativity and love for nature.
Terrariums are miniature ecosystems housed in glass containers, typically filled with plants and small decorative elements. They provide an opportunity for children to learn about plant care, observation, and the natural cycle of life. Here are a few more reasons why creating a terrarium can be a fun activity to do after reading The Secret Garden:
Connection to Nature: Creating a terrarium allows children to connect with nature directly, nurturing plants and witnessing their growth and development.
Hands-on Learning: Terrariums offer a hands-on learning experience. Kids can learn about the importance of sunlight, water, and soil for plant growth while experimenting with different plant species.
Creativity and Imagination: Building a terrarium allows children to express their creativity and imagination. They can design and decorate their terrariums with various elements like pebbles, figurines, or small decorative items.
Responsibility and Patience: Taking care of a terrarium teaches children about responsibility and patience. They need to water the plants appropriately, monitor their growth, and make adjustments as necessary.
Observation and Scientific Skills: Terrariums provide an opportunity for children to develop their observation skills by closely monitoring plant growth and changes within the ecosystem. They can also learn basic scientific concepts such as photosynthesis and the water cycle.
Before starting the terrarium project, make sure to provide kids with the necessary materials, such as a glass container, potting soil, small plants suitable for terrariums, rocks or pebbles for drainage, and decorative elements. The two videos below can help you guide them through the process:
Activity 7: Make a bird feeder
A robin redbreast plays a significant role in the story and acts as a guide and friend to Mary. As she explores the grounds of Misselthwaite Manor, the robin leads her to the hidden door that leads to the secret garden. At first, the bird is cautious and observes her from a distance. However, as Mary spends more time in the garden, the robin begins to trust her and develops a friendship with her. The bird's presence provides Mary with a sense of companionship and connection to nature.
Making a bird feeder provides an opportunity for children to connect with nature. They can learn about different bird species, their feeding habits, and their role in the ecosystem. Setting up the feeder and observing the birds that visit can spark a sense of wonder and curiosity about the natural world.
To create a bird feeder, use various materials such as pinecones, cardboard, or recycled containers to construct unique and personalized feeders. Once the bird feeder is set up, children can experience the joy of bird watching. They can observe the birds that visit the feeder, learn about their unique behaviors, and develop a deeper appreciation for the beauty and diversity of bird species. Bird watching can be a peaceful and enjoyable activity that promotes relaxation and a connection with the natural world.
Activity 8: Family movie night!
After reading the book, watch the movie adaptation of The Secret Garden together as a family. This is a great way to compare and contrast the book and the movie, and to see how different scenes and characters are portrayed on screen. Watch the movie adaptation of The Secret Garden and compare it to the book. Discuss the similarities and differences.
There were also two film adaptations of “The Secret Garden," produced in 1993 and 2020. Here are a few key differences between the two:
1. Visual Style: The 1993 adaptation has a more traditional and whimsical feel, with a lush English countryside setting and a sense of nostalgia. The 2020 adaptation, on the other hand, has a more modern and fantastical approach, with vibrant and visually stunning cinematography.
2. Plot Focus: While both films follow the general storyline of the book, there are some differences in how the plot is presented. The 1993 version stays closer to the original novel, while the 2020 adaptation introduces some new elements and expands on certain aspects of the story.
3. Characters and Performances: The way the characters are shown is different in the two movies. Each movie has its own actors and how they act out the characters, and what you like personally might affect which performances you like more.
Deciding which version is better is a personal choice. Parents may like the 1993 version more because it reminds them of their past and brings back good memories. Children may prefer the 2020 version because it has cool special effects and tells the story in a more modern way. We recommend watching both!
Activity 9: More fun craft activities inspired by the Secret Garden
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Make Your Own Secret Garden
Rachel K documents the top-secret Secret Garden on @Instructables that she made for her daughter! Read her special story here.
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Quick and Colorful Kids' Garden
Thanks to @K.I.S.S., this simple project is customizable to your budget & space (use a pot or planter box if you don't have a yard).
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DIY Garden Tic-Tac-Toe
@Chicken Scratch NY came up with this fun tic-tac-toe game with insect-inspired stones.
Activity 10: Free resources to build handwriting skills.
Research has shown there is a strong link between handwriting and cognitive development. When kids write by hand, it activates areas of the brain that are important for language processing, memory recall, and creative thinking. Handwriting can also improve reading skills. As kids learn to write letters and words, they become more familiar with the shapes and forms of letters, which can help them recognize them more quickly when reading. We hope your kids enjoy these handwriting printables for The Secret Garden!
If your child loved The Secret Garden, check out:
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