5 Tips for Gardening with Kids
Planting a flower garden is a great activity that can be shared with children of all ages. But there are several things that you need to remember to make the planting and growing experience fun for young ages. Here are 5 tips for gardening with kids that will help you have a successful gardening experience.
Don’t try to be perfect
When you give kids the opportunity to help you plant a flower garden, you must give up the idea of a perfect garden. Most kids are not going to plant seeds in perfect rows. Young children don’t do things the same way adults do. They are sporadic and easily distracted by a butterfly, the cool rock they just found or the shape of the seeds in their little hands. You can even set aside a small area for them to have their own garden.
Do the hard work first
It might be helpful to get the garden prepared before the kids come join you. That way when it’s time for the child to help plant, they won’t have the hard work to do. Get the soil broken up first. Nobody enjoys the hard work of getting rid of the grass or breaking up hard ground. If the dirt is soft and ready for planting, you and the kids will have much more fun.
Seeds and Plants
Have several seed packages that the child can pick from. Then let them plant. Show them how to make a small hole with their thumb and then drop 1-2 seeds in each hole. But remember that they will probably drop more of the seeds outside the intended spots.
Have some small plants ready to plant around the seeds. This way the kids will see instant color and beauty while you are waiting for the small seeds to sprout.
Provide the right tools
Kids love to play dress-up and be like just like you. So provide their own garden gloves or child appropriate rakes and shovels that they can use to help you pull weeds and plant the flowers. You may even want to give them a fun watering can to share the load of watering the brand-new planted seeds and flowers
Go beyond flowers
To make this experience even more fun, you can follow up the gardening with a few related crafts. Have your kids help with making garden markers, or a scarecrow. If you decide to use seeds instead of plants for your garden, this will help your child see instant results instead of having to wait for the plants to grow.
This is a great experience to teach your child not only about how plants grow but also about pride and accomplishment. When visitors come over, they can proudly show them the garden that they created!
