Planting roses of love

"O Friend! In the garden of thy heart plant naught but the rose of love..."

Supplies:

Different color paper petals with virtues written on them (flower petals)

Pipe-cleaners (flower stem): 2 pipe-cleaners per stem, twisted together for stability

Paper cups (garden of thy heart)

Optional:

Heart and/or flowers stickers (for easy decorating of garden, ie. the paper cup)

Large buttons or ring-shaped bead (for center of flower)

Paper cut-out leaves (additional decoration)

Before beginning the project, walk the kids through the quote and explain its meaning.

For example: "If your heart was a garden, you would only want to plant nice and lovely things because it would grow into the most beautiful of gardens. Lovely things like love, justice, and kindness. They would grow into the most gorgeous flowers. The more virtues and good plants, the more beautiful the garden will become.

If you were to plant not nice things such as hate, violence, or greed, it would be like planting weeds in the garden of your heart."

Have the kids decorate the gardens (the paper cups) with hearts and flowers (stickers) to begin the planting process, always relating it back to the idea of virtues being beautiful and ideas such as hate being weeds.

Show them the different color virtue petals and have them pick out their favorite ones. Thread the virtue petals to the end of the pipe-cleaner stem always leaving about a 1/2 inch from the end of the stem.

**Suggested:

Twisting two pipe-cleaners together per stem for stability as well as for final button decoration.

Cutting small holes into each of the petals prior to the activity.

Makes it easier for the kids when constructing the flower**

Once all the petals have been added, take one of the large buttons or bead rings, thread the stem through (preferably made of 2 pipecleaners) and secure by bending the stem.

Add a green leave or two onto the stem.

Punch a hole into the top of the decorated paper cup (garden) and plant the now beautiful, virtue-colorful flower. It may help to wind the stem inside the cup a bit because they're usually longer than the height of the cup, as well as gives it a bit more weight on the bottom.