This week, I thought I would write about projects that can be done with your kids (or your neices and nephews, your little brother, etc). Gardening is a great activity to do with kids, especially nowadays when kids are practically born with a mouse and keyboard in their hands. While I love technology as much as the next person, it’s important to stay connected with tangible stuff too. It doesn’t get much more tangible than gardening!
So, before I share any of my ideas, I thought I would ask you all about your experience gardening with kids. What worked, and what was a collossal failure? What’s your best tip? What gardening activity do your kids love doing?
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Beans.
Good old pole beans grow very quickly, so they are good for showing visible progress to kids. When I was in elementary school we started pole bean seeds in water, soil, a wet paper towel, etc. Then we kept them alive in disposable coffee cup and they grew like weeds. I had beans strung all over my bedroom window in no time
Those tiny seed and pot dealies you always see for 99 cents in the bargain bin at target are good. Usually they are herbs or a flower. Make it a daily routine to give it some water and see how it has grown.
Good ideas Shawn! Fast is good with kids.
As a tot, I was all about growing berries — strawberries and raspberries at my grandfather’s house. Every weekend we’d go for a visit and we’d tromp out to his patch and inspect the flowers and fruit as it matured. Then, of course, once picking season started — look out. I’d barely say hello before taking Grandpa’s hand and racing out to his berry patch.
Later in my tweens and teens, my favorite gardening activity was was just lounging and looking and lazing in my mother’s gardens. Curling up in the grass with a book and some daydreams right next to her feathery peonies or just hanging out back watching the bees buzz around in the Salvia.
So that mix of observation and making garden experiences like relaxing, delightful “treats” makes sense to me. …Those really are still my favorite gardening activities–after all these years.
We always loved growing big, visually rewarding vegetables… squash, corn, watermelons… and sunflowers!
what kid doesn’t like playing with dirt????? anyway, growing stuff to eat seems like a good place to start. when i was a kid i grew green beans, and i ate them even though i didn’t like green beans, because i had grown them myself. also, i remember growing pumpkins with my kids (you), but the vines kind of took over the yard if i remember correctly.
For us, gardening is ALL about the kid. We have a sunflower fort and a bean teepee (although she calls it a bean castle). We also added a little character to the raised veggie beds by adding “friends”: little wooden characters that are plant markers like Gary Garlic, Tammy Turnip, etc. With younger kids it makes the garden more exciting- sort of like “It’s a Small World” in the garden! My daughter (who will be 3 in September) LOVES planting seeds. Giving her a package of seeds to do as she wants with is the best way to occupy her for at least an hour. It’s fun to see little things pop up here and there in the yard and know that she put it there. We now have Armenian Cucumbers, Okra and Nasturtium growing EVERYWHERE in our backyard.
My kids like projects most where they can recognize the seeds they’re planting. Plants like pumpkins or sunflowers are great, because my son likes eating pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds. So he can eat some and plant others, and he’s over the moon. Peas are good for that, too, and grow fast.
My best tip is always to give the kid ownership. My son is only 3, but he never forgets a day when it comes to watering HIS plants. Knowing that he is responsible keeps him interested.