Fun Gardening Ideas For Children
I am a strong advocate for engaging children in their outdoor surroundings, environment and gardens. There are endless fun gardening ideas for children that will help you as parents, teachers, grandparents and family to give children a sound introduction to the joys of gardening.
I sometimes think in these days of modern technology, computers, virtual reality and online activities that children are in danger of losing their natural connection with the outdoors. At this time of year, the days are longer and warmer. There are lots of times you need to entertain the children and keep them occupied. Get them outdoors in the fresh air and nature and the garden will take of the rest. They will find so much to peak their interest and natural curiosity.
There is lots for them to learn and enjoy from being outside with nature, also their well-being and general health and fitness rely on outdoor activities. Children love to be outdoors playing, running around and having fun so let’s encourage this. gardening-for-well-being-why-gardening-is-good-for-your-health/
We should instil in them a love of wildlife, nature and flowers and teach them how to grow all sorts of plants including vegetables. For some this will turn into, at the very least a lifelong, interesting hobby and at the most, could be a rewarding and satisfying career.
Fun Gardening Ideas For Children
From a very young age children are naturally curious, they’re fearless and eager to be into everything. In a garden there are myriad ways to entertain your child. Child sized, brightly coloured trowels, forks, rakes and spades will help kick-start their interest.
This would be perfect for little helpers.
Projects Children Will Enjoy
- Let them Dig… If you’re planting new plants for instance, let your child help, they love digging in soil and getting muddy! Welly boots, a watering can and a child size trowel equal hours of fun for a youngster.
- Bugs and Insects… Show them how to find different bugs and insects. Teach them what they are and how important it is to have these garden creatures. Explain about bees and other pollinators. How to identify them. Ladybirds, bees, butterflies, frogs, newts, snails, hedgehogs and many others.
- Sow the Seeds of interest… Sow the seed of interest and watch it grow. Show them how to plant seeds, examples of easy seeds to grow that kids will love are sunflowers, sweet peas, snap peas, radishes, marigolds, nasturtiums and pumpkins. These are all great for keeping your child interested and engaged.
Fin Gardening Ideas for Kids Stimulate their senses too, touch, smell, taste, soft flowers and foliage, the scent of shrubs will arouse a child s curiosity.
- Give them their Own Garden… If you can let your child have part of the garden to call their own they will be more encouraged to look after it, they take ownership of their own space. Or if space is limited then a few pots will suffice. If you don’t have a garden, then search out parks and green spaces in your neighbourhood where you can take kids. Planting vegetables teaches them where food comes from, why it is healthy and good for them to eat. Having your child help you to grow vegetables is a surefire way to get them to enjoy eating veg more. Tip… colourful, unusual vegetables like potatoes… and cherry tomatoes make them more interested in produce.
- Make a Wildlife Pond… Involve children in making a wildlife pond.
- Plant some seeds both vegetables and flowers. How-to-grow-seeds-5-easy-steps
Keep Them Interested
Make a find and name quiz… simply put together some picture cards of insects, bugs, flowers etc and send your kids off to find them.
Drawing and painting flowers, bugs, creatures etc will also help children to relate with garden creatures and to value them.
Put up bird nesting boxes and feeders. This gives children another reason to focus on what is going on in the garden. They will soon learn how to identify garden birds. Have a count of how many birds you get in the garden and which type.
Help Children Make Something For The Garden
Wildlife pond.
- A pond can easily be made with a small tub, bucket or wash bowl.
- All you need to do is clear a small area of the garden of weeds and debris.
- Dig a hole, slightly larger than your bucket/tub and as deep, place your bucket in the hole, your bucket needs to sit level with the ground.
- Back fill any gaps around the bucket.
- Place some stones and pebbles of varying sizes around the bucket and if you like some larger pebbles in the bucket too.
- Fill the bucket with water.
- Add some plants to the surrounding area.
- Add some small water plants to the pond.
Bug hotels are really popular with kids.
Make a log pile for bugs and insects.
Plant a pot of herbs or flowers.
School Or Local Gardening Club
Many schools now have their own garden where kids can get involved with learning how to grow things.
If there is a school garden club enroll your kids in it, they will learn social skills, patience, how to interact with other children as well as learning how to grow and care for plants and have lots of fun, while also benefiting from being out in the fresh air!
Community gardens and/or allotments are also great places for kids to learn and interact with others.
True Story…
One of my clients a few years ago asked if I would mind if her grandson Josh helped me in the garden when he wasn’t at school. He was about 7 or 8 years old at the time.
He would love to help me tidy and weed. He would help put all the rubbish in bins or compost bins. I taught him how to take cuttings from plants and how to grow seeds.
We had loads of cuttings, plants etc in the greenhouse by the end of his school summer holidays.
Now, I will tell you that Josh is hard of hearing and has learning difficulties, however he loves gardening. When he went onto secondary education he attended a special school for deaf children, he was so excited to tell me there was a garden at his new school.
Children there learnt how to grow vegetables mainly, which they then were taught how to cook. They grew enough produce to supply the school kitchens.
Josh was winner of a young horticulturalist award and has now gone on to horticulture college. I am so proud of him.
The moral of this story is that teaching kids from a young age about gardening, wildlife and nature is a fine way to give them a firm grounding in their outdoor spaces.
There really is no excuse. Come on everyone let’s engage the next generation of horticulturalists. Get kids outdoors, learning, playing, planting, growing, gardening and having fun. Who knows where it may lead. Horticulture has any number of different career choices.
Landscape, garden centers, plants nursery, environmental and scientific to name but a few.
Happy Gardening.
I hope this article has been useful to you. Please share with friends and family and social media.
I love to hear from my readers, so please do add any comments in the comments box below. Thank you.
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This is a great article, some marvellous ideas for getting kids involved in gardening. I will definitely be doing some of these projects with my kids
Thankyou for your comments, you and the kids will have great fun.
Hi there, this is one the thing that do give me concerned about our generation and coming ones, our children are used to computers, gadgets, video games and all others indoors activities forgetting about about green lives out there, many parents and even guidance are not noticing this, reading the story of Josh is just like an inspiration to me, I hope other parents can learn from this and engaged kids at their tender age garden and even lifestyle outside computers and gadget
Hello,
I am hoping other parents and children will be inspired by Josh too, to get out and learn gardening, about plants and wildlife.
You are so right that children are spending more and more time indoors on their tablets and computers and less and less time outdoors. Adults have this problem too.
The best time to start kids with gardening is when they are young as this is the age they like to explore as well as not mind getting dirty. I love your other tips for getting them interested.
Loved the story of young Josh which was also very inspiring to read. Just goes to show how one can find hidden talent in a relatively simple thing like gardening.
Hi Michel,
It is a concern that more and more people spend so much time indoors, I agree in terms of age of children, start them young with anything and their curiosity and eagerness to explore will stand them in good stead.
Thank you for your comments.
Louise
Thanks for posting this article on fun gardening idea for kids.
i do play with my kid in my small garden at home almost every weekends when I am around but never for once have I engage him in the gardening idea because I think it is not necessary thing to do. But reading this article and thinking about it,it going to be a nice idea to try out this weekend In the garden
Hello,
I really hope you do engage him with plants, flowers and wildlife, so much fun and learning out there. I am sure you will both enjoy it. Let me know how you get on.
Louise
I totally agree with you. I remember as a kid, I used to play outdoor in the evening with my friends. This days, a lot of children spend time on video games and television that they see no use to go outdoor.
I like how you’ve gone about this subject. I can feel you passion for teaching children how to care for a garden, and it’s positively contagious. Teaching kids this things early in life, would help build empathy in this kids. It’s a laudable project you write about. Keep it up, cheers
Hello Louis, thank you for your comments, its important to teach kids as much as possible about their environment and how to care for it. Children take a lot pleasure from learning about plants and wildlife.
Thank you
Louise
Teaching children how to run their own garden is a very good thing as this will make them know where food comes. This will expose them positively to understand life processes and knowing that there is no food for lazy man. They will learn how to manage things and not to waste food as they understands the way food comes, they wouldn’t want to waste food in any way. They will learn a lot through this.
Absolutely I agree with you. Its important for children to know how and where food is sourced.
Thank you
Louise
Thanks for writing out this lovely article and I must say its a must for every parents to read and digest.children loves playing in the garden, they feel exited. Garden is fun and entertaining to children ,children should be taught how to plant. This article is so helpful,i will share with my friends and family. Thanks for the insight
Hello,
Thankyou for your comments and for sharing.
Very interesting , good job and thanks for sharing these good ideas for those intended in having a family soon and various parents at home. Yes, gone are those days when children engage in outdoors playing, running around, doing some garden works and having fun, but these days of modern technology, computers, virtual reality and online activities has make children to lose their natural connection with the outdoor surroundings, environment and gardens. Louise had actually enlightened the parents and intending parents, with these wonderful outdoor activities children can engage in, to have fun.I can remember then, at 7 when my parents we take me and my brother to the small at the back of the house, in which we help in the planting vegetables, it’s actually a great fun. Parents pick a project for your children now.
Hi,
Thank you for your comments, kids need to be engaged with outdoor pursuits, it’s good for them. Learning to grow flowers and plants gives them satisfying results that they can enjoy.
Louise