Are you planning to start gardening with your kids? Well, gardening with children is an excellent activity to perform together and a great way to educate them on the growth of plants and live a sustainable life. This whole process of digging mud, sowing seeds watering and growing plants includes sensory aspects. It lets them play in the dirt and teaches them lessons of science and, most importantly, of life.
But the list does not end here. Gardening with kids can also improve their immune systems. In this article, we will unravel more interesting information and tips about gardening with children. So, let us check them out before you go out and start gardening with your little munchkins!
Benefits Of Gardening With Kids
Gardening with children is not only a fun activity but also a learning experience. There are many parents who believe that engaging in gardening activity with their children have been helpful in making them eat a healthy diet. Children find it interesting to eat what they grow with their own hands.
Gardening is indeed educational and helps to acquire new skills. Here are a few of the top benefits you can achieve while gardening with your children.
- Responsibility
Gardening can make your children learn more about responsibility. Since the activity requires dedication to go out and water, feed and weed the seeds to potentially grow up, this process teaches your kids responsibility.
There is nothing to be surprised if your child takes time to understand and appreciate the garden maintenance task. Give them their own time to look at it as a responsibility rather than just a chore.
- Botany Education
Kids usually are curious about every new thing they see. Therefore, they ask a lot of questions which is also visible while gardening. This is because gardening is a great activity to stimulate their curious mind and help them comprehend.
The best part is you need not have to tell them on your own. After spending a few minutes in the garden, children will start questioning about it.
- Increases Patience
Another good thing about gardening is learning how to keep patience throughout the growing cycle of plants. However, there is no denying that children may find it tough to wait until the plants grow patiently. Nonetheless, your children will definitely enjoy observing the progress of the seeds they planted every day.
Gardening Activities for Children
- Plant Flowers of their Names
Children whose name is Lily, Daisy, Basil, Rose or any other floral name will enjoy the activity of growing flowers in their garden plot with their name. Many of these flowers are easier to grow in the garden.
If your child’s name does not belong to any floral or nature name, you can even use the names of some known ones, including friends, family members, neighbors or favourite onscreen characters.
- Grow Flowers, Vegetables and Fruits of Rainbow Colours
It can be really fun to grow a variety of fruits, vegetables and flowers in segments. You can ask your kids to work along with you on an area at a time and create a rainbow garden. Allow your kids to choose their favourite fruits, vegetables, herbs or flowers of a different colour. Here are some options to choose from:
- Red – roses, strawberries, red bell peppers and cherry tomatoes
- Green – lettuce, herbs, spring onions and zucchini
- Blue – cornflowers
- Yellow – daisies, sunflowers and marigolds
- Orange – oranges, carrots, pumpkins and marigolds
- Purple – eggplants, purple cabbages
- White – mushrooms, cauliflowers and lilies
- Grow Plants That You Eat For Snacks
How much fun it sounds when you can get to eat what you actually grew yourself! Children love to eat food freshly plucked from their garden. So, we suggest you plant a variety of vegetables, fruits and herbs and let your kids pick them. Some of the favorites include carrots, strawberries, tomatoes, greens and basil leaves.
Tips For Gardening With Kids
- Begin with Smaller Projects. Children usually have a shorter attention span. Therefore, it will not be fruitful to expect them to follow long-term work. Besides, small goals are realistic and retain their attention.
- Let them Choose. Allow your child to choose what plants they want to grow.
- Cook a dish using the freshly plucked Food. Try preparing a recipe using the ingredients you both grew together.
- Buy them Child-friendly Gardening Tools. This will help them become proactive and independent.