INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Carefully tip the pot of the plant you’re using in the planter to loosen the soil from the inside of its original pot. Doing this when your plant’s soil is wet works best because the soil will stay together better. Remove the entire plant with its roots and soil all together. You want to try to keep the roots of your plant the way they are as much as possible to avoid damaging them. Once they’re settled into your planter, they will start to take up more space, but for now, don’t spread them out. Simply set the whole plant with roots and soil into your new planter. On the other hand, if the plant appears to be root-bound in its current container, loosen the roots gently outwards with your fingers. A root-bound plant will have visible roots that coil around the inside of the pot. Unless your plant with its original soil is wide enough to fill your tall planter to its edges, you’ll need to fill in the remaining space with topsoil. Make a nice smooth top  layer of soil at the base of the plant, and give your plant some extra soil around its base if it lost any in the transplant. Many potted plants do well when their soil is changed each year, so they get new nutrients. You can discard the old soil from your planter into other parts of your garden, and use a new bag of topsoil to replace it. When you’re replacing the soil, peek down into your bottom filler to see if it needs to be replaced.  Change your bottom filler if you used wood and it’s starting to rot, or become squishy and smelly; and change out aluminum cans if they are starting to rust. Plastic items and Styrofoam generally last a long time, but it doesn’t hurt to check on them and see if they are breaking down and could be replaced. Rocks, broken pottery, and clay pebbles will be the materials that last the longest out of your bottom fillers. As an alternative to replacing the top soil completely, you can also just mix compost, leaf mold, manure, peat moss, gypsum, or other soil amendments into the soil. This works best if you originally started with healthy or living soil instead of premixed potting soil. If you used a mix like Miracle-Gro, it is likelier that you will need to replace the soil every year. Consider replacing it with living or organic soil.

SUMMARY: Remove your plant or flower from its original pot. Set the whole plant with its original soil into the center of your planter. Fill the surrounding space with topsoil. Change the topsoil and check on your filler each year. Mix in compost or soil amendments instead of replacing your topsoil.


INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Let your child be surrounded by books, giving them the opportunity to pick one out in any corner of the house.. Also consider making available other types of reading materials such as comics, magazines or even newspapers. Having an abundance of options at hand at all times will encourage your child to pick out one of them and read through it. You only need a few neighborhood kids to come over and read the same book.The children can then discuss the best parts of the book or their favorite characters.  You can also get the children to enact the story line. This will transform reading into a highly entertaining activity that will get them eager to come together to read and play. Alternatively, participate in a book club with your child by choosing a book you both want to read. Come up with discussion questions after each section or chapter so the two of you can talk about the book together. While it is important to closely monitor your child’s access to technology and modern gadgets, if you decide to let them use some, it is better to choose ones that encourage constructive activities such as reading. Kindles are entertaining and will encourage your children to read more. There are several places to get free ebooks for Kindles. You can start by looking at what Amazon has to offer.

SUMMARY:
Place books all around the house. Start a book club! Consider letting your child use a Kindle or a Nook.