My children love to help me in the garden and they can be a big help, too. There's a lot to teach a child about life just by getting your hands dirty in the soil together. These 8 tips can help get your children interested in gardening, give you the opportunity to have fun together and get the chores done. So grab those gardening gloves and try some of these gardening tips together.
Have a worm and bug hunt. Search for worms and bugs that are good for gardens. Have a contest to see who can find the most. You can also teach why those bugs and worms are good for gardens.
Harvest Helpers. Have children help harvest the vegetables and fruit in your garden. Show them how to gather seeds and bulbs from this season's blooms and what to do with them until the next season.
Compost the fun. Have children gather worms, grass clippings and leftover food and put them in the compost bin. Check out 163 Things You Can Compost by Marion Owen, Fearless Weeder for PlanTea, Inc. and Co-author of Chicken Soup for the Gardener's Soul.
Give plants a drink. Allow your child to help water the plants.
Be her own gardener. Give your child a small space in your garden to plant what she chooses. You could teach her light, height and water requirements. Kids will be more willing to take care of their own garden that they created themselves.
Sprout seeds together. There are different ways to sprout seeds. An easy way is to put a few seeds on a paper towel and then roll the paper towel loosely. Wrap it in tin foil with a little bit of the paper towel hanging out the bottom and place in a cup of water. In a couple of weeks, open the wrapping to see the roots growing. Another easy way to watch seeds sprout is to plant them in a clear baseball card holder, like the ones you put in an album. Hang in a sunny window and watch them grow.
Help make a nest. Some birds can be good for gardens. Gather up a small pile of hair, string and material pieces that birds can use to make nests.
Container gardens are fun too. If your yard is small, give your children their own flower pot to plant whatever they want in it.
Be sure to take pictures to remember these precious times together. Your children will love to see pictures of how fast their plants grow and maybe even eat a strawberry from a tiny seed they planted in the soil. Gardening offers many opportunities to have fun, learn about the cycle of life and experience the world from the ground up.
Have a worm and bug hunt. Search for worms and bugs that are good for gardens. Have a contest to see who can find the most. You can also teach why those bugs and worms are good for gardens.
Harvest Helpers. Have children help harvest the vegetables and fruit in your garden. Show them how to gather seeds and bulbs from this season's blooms and what to do with them until the next season.
Compost the fun. Have children gather worms, grass clippings and leftover food and put them in the compost bin. Check out 163 Things You Can Compost by Marion Owen, Fearless Weeder for PlanTea, Inc. and Co-author of Chicken Soup for the Gardener's Soul.
Give plants a drink. Allow your child to help water the plants.
Be her own gardener. Give your child a small space in your garden to plant what she chooses. You could teach her light, height and water requirements. Kids will be more willing to take care of their own garden that they created themselves.
Sprout seeds together. There are different ways to sprout seeds. An easy way is to put a few seeds on a paper towel and then roll the paper towel loosely. Wrap it in tin foil with a little bit of the paper towel hanging out the bottom and place in a cup of water. In a couple of weeks, open the wrapping to see the roots growing. Another easy way to watch seeds sprout is to plant them in a clear baseball card holder, like the ones you put in an album. Hang in a sunny window and watch them grow.
Help make a nest. Some birds can be good for gardens. Gather up a small pile of hair, string and material pieces that birds can use to make nests.
Container gardens are fun too. If your yard is small, give your children their own flower pot to plant whatever they want in it.
Be sure to take pictures to remember these precious times together. Your children will love to see pictures of how fast their plants grow and maybe even eat a strawberry from a tiny seed they planted in the soil. Gardening offers many opportunities to have fun, learn about the cycle of life and experience the world from the ground up.
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