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Want to help your child prepare for
a big test? Use these tips to help your
little ones calm pre-test jitters and set
them up for success on their next exam.
I) Make sure your child has a quiet,
well-lit place to study that is free
of distractions.
2 ) Sleep is important—not just on
the night before tests but every
night—so make sure they get
a good night's sleep.
3) Encourage your child to relax
the night before the test, and
discourage last-minute cramming.
4 ) Start their day off right with a
breakfast high in fiber like
Kellogg’s
®
Frosted Mini-Wheats
®
. A clinical
study showed kids who ate a
filling breakfast of
Kellogg’s
®
Frosted Mini-Wheats®
Cereal had
23% better quality of memory
when compared to kids who
missed out on breakfast.
Search “M om ’s Hom eroom ”
at msn.com to learn more
ways to help your kid
succeed in school.
m s n
Keeps 'em full,
jf-eeps 'em -Pocuye/.
family matters
ACTIVITIES
If the butterfly weed likes its spot
(lots of sun, not too wet) it will come
back and reward you with blooms for
many years to come.
FOR FUN Plant butterfly weed near
another butterfly magnet, such as a
butterfly bush
(Buddleia).
Then
watch for chrysalises to form on this
and nearby plants. It takes about two
weeks for a chrysalis to become a
beautiful butterfly. Cook for the
chrysalis to become transparent
(it will look black because of the
butterfly inside). When that happens
keep a close eye—
it won’t be long.
DOLL MAKER
H O L L Y H O C K
(ALCEA
ROSEA)
TYPE Biennial
HEIGHT
2
to 8
feet tall
LIGHT Full sun to part shade
WHAT KIDS LOVE Learning to make
hollyhock dolls and summer
hideouts.
WHAT TO GROW Hollyhocks are
either annual (bloom in the same
year they are planted), or biennial
(blooming the second year after
planting). You can sow the seeds of
annual plants early this spring, or
buy biennial plants that are already
a year old. Some hollyhocks have
simple, old-fashioned looks, and
others have dozens of rich, ruffly
petals. First-year bloomers include
‘Summer Carnival’ and ‘Queeny
Purple’. Popular picks in biennial
hollyhocks include ‘Chater’s Double’
and ‘Summer Memories’.
FOR FUN Use the flowers to make
hollyhock dolls (see instructions)
like your grandma did as a girl.
Or grow walls for a summer hide-
out. These plants can get really
tall—up to 8 feet—which makes
them a good candidate for holly-
hock houses.
HOW TO MAKE A HOLLYHOCK DOLL
1
. Invert a hollyhock for the skirt.
2
. Give your doll a head by attaching
a flower bud to her hollyhock skirt
with a toothpick.
3
. Place a third flower on her “head”
for a bonnet.
BY THE
CLOCK
F O U R O ’
C L O C K
(MIRABILIS)
TYPE Annual
HEIGHT
2
to
3
feet tall
LIGHT Full sun to part shade
WHAT KIDS LOVE Watching the clock.
These plants wake up and show their
blooms around four o’clock in the
afternoon. The only exception is on
cloudy days when refracted sunlight
causes their bright flowers to stay
open all day. They are also intensely
fragrant after they open, which
is a delight to younger and older
noses alike.
WHAT TO GROW Try the ‘Stars and
Stripes’ series for striped and
splashed blooms in shades of pink,
orange, and yellow.
FOR FUN Collect their seeds. Kids
love gathering them because they’re
large and unusual-looking and easy
to handle. At the end of the season,
the plants are loaded with seeds that
look like black peppercorns (they are
not edible). Use the seeds you and
your children gather to start plants
inside next year. Or let them fall
where they will. They readily reseed
themselves for a new crop next
season. Once you get them going,
you’ll never be without a four
o’clock in the garden. o
For details visit www.frostedminiwheats.com
®, TM, © 2009 Kellogg NA Co.
228 APRIL2009 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS
