Health Project: Milk Carton House and Garden
How to make a milk carton house and gardens in elementary health class!
This Milk Carton House and Garden health project is the perfect Earth Day or environmental health activity. Students loved designing their house and garden, planting their seeds, and then watering them as they grew. I opted to do this with elementary students, but it would be just as fun for middle school students! Let’s get into the details of this health teaching idea.
Table of Contents:
What You Need (Project Materials)
Step 1: Cut Out and Design
Step 2: Fill the Garden with Soil
Step 3: Plant and Water Seeds
Ta-Da! Enjoy your garden!
What You Need to Make Milk Carton Houses and Mini Gardens
First, let’s chat about the project materials you’ll need:
2L milk cartons (one for each student)
Box cutters
Acrylic paint
Popsicle sticks
Garden soil
Seeds
Watering canister
To get enough milk cartons, we sent a note home to parents and I started saving our almond milk cartons for a few weeks leading up to the project.
Step 1: Cut Out and Design Milk Carton House
The first step is to cut out and for students to design their milk carton houses. To make things go a bit smoother during class, I recommend cutting cartons into the correct shape beforehand. Once the carton is ready, students can paint their houses. They can also glue popsicle sticks along the “garden” like a fence.
Step 2: Fill the “Garden” with Soil
Next, each student put a scoop of soil into their “gardens.” I don’t have much of a green thumb (although I’m trying), so I didn’t quite prep the soil correctly. But we made it work!
How adorable is this little milk carton neighborhood? They were so excited to put them together on a cul-de-sac.
Step 3: Plant & Water Seeds in the Garden and Water
Now that the gardens are ready, it’s time to plant! Depending on the type of seeds you buy, this step may look a little different (My green thumb MIL sent me these directions.). We ended up using microgreens. For this seed option, we just spread out the seeds; it wasn’t quite planting.
Once students had spread out the seeds, they covered them in water.
Step 4: Put the Cartons in a Dark Place*
*For the seeds we used, it was recommended to store them in the dark for a few days. Each day, the students watered them.
Ta-Da: Milk Carton House & Mini Gardens Craft Success!
After four or five days, we took out the houses and were so excited to see “gardens” growing! This health project was so much fun! There are so many possibilities for your classroom. I’d love to hear all about it if you’ve tried it or have done something similar.
Discussion Prompts for Health Class
Here are a few questions to ask students while working on this health project:
What healthy habits did you build while taking care of your garden?
What elements of your BEST Model may be impacted by having a garden?
What feelings did you experience while making and taking care of a garden?