How long will it take?

Making daisy chains can keep children occupied for quite some time. It's a good idea to start with them, then leave them to continue without you for a while. This project is best for late spring or early summer.

What you will need

• lots of daisies
• a fairly long thumbnail
• friends to help

Step-by-step guide

1 Take your children to a place where there are lots of daisies.

2 Ask them to pick a few - ensure they pick ones with good long stalks.

3 Tell them they need to use their thumbnail to split the stalk about halfway down its length.

4 Ask them to thread the stalk of another daisy through this hole, then to make a hole in this daisy's stalk with their thumbnail and thread another daisy through it.

5 They can keep going until they have a really long daisy chain.

Tips and advice

• They could make a daisy chain using all the daisies they can see, or a daisy chain to go all around the kitchen table, lawn or path. Or perhaps they could have a competition with someone else to see who can make the longer one.
• Ask them to make necklaces, bracelets, rings and crowns.
• Check your children have a long enough thumbnail to make the hole in the stalk.
• They can dry their daisy chain by hanging it in the airing cupboard. Then it will last for a very long time.