PRIME TIME WITH KIDS

Harvesting the remaining green tomatoes off of yellowing, spindly vines might seem like a final salute to summer and fall’s bounty, but don’t say your adieus yet. A scraggly-looking plot gone to seed is ripe for more family outdoor fun. Hiding in pods and drooping flowers are thousands of seeds waiting to be discovered, sorted and saved for next year’s planting. There’s potential for doing artful activities, too, using odd-shaped seeds and withering finds.

Here are four engaging seed activities to do with school-age kids:

DISCOVER:

A plant usually has to die off for the seeds to be ready to harvest. If you have a pole-bean plant, for example, look for beans that are shriveled and turning brown. Pick and break them open to reveal the drying seeds. Place seeds on a paper towel and continue to dry for a day or two.

SORT:

Collect seeds from other plants, including flowers. Marigolds store seeds right in the dried bloom. Shake the blooms to dislodge the seeds and examine them with a magnifying glass. They look like porcupine quills. Kids will have fun sorting through them to find and keep those that have a nice black color to them.

SAVE:

Put sorted dried seeds into small containers or paper bags. Decorate the outside and label and date with personal descriptions, like “Mason’s Magic Marigolds” and “The Bennetts’ Bodacious Bush Beans.” Store in a cool place, and your heirloom seeds will be ready for planting next spring. Rather than keeping them all, give some away, too.

CREATE:

Big seeds you collect can be made into one-of-a-kind jewelry. Thread a large needle with elastic threading or heavy threading doubled up and string on pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds, spacing with beads for an eye-catching bracelet or necklace.

Or, make a stick-style figure with sticks and other finds on a sheet of paper. You might start with a smooth leaf for a body, such as a maple leaf. Use an acorn for a head, snap thin twigs for arms and legs, and add two large pinecone seeds for feet. (shake a large pinecone to dislodge seeds hiding inside) Withered flowers, milkweed floss and grasses make great hairdos. Dot glue under the objects if you want to keep the picture for a while. Or, give it a name and just enjoy it for the moment.

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Donna Erickson’s award-winning series “Donna’s Day” is airing on public television nationwide. To find more of her creative family recipes and activities, visit www.donnasday.com and link to the NEW Donna’s Day Facebook fan page. Her latest book is “Donna Erickson’s Fabulous Funstuff for Families.”

© 2016 Donna Erickson

Distributed by King Features Syndicate