Ways to Get Your Kids Excited About Gardening

Playing in the Dirt is a tradition for children. Gardening is simply messing about in the Dirt with a purpose. Growing produce together may be one of the most enjoyable and engaging activities you do with your children. Gardening offers a plethora of advantages in addition to the basic ones. It connects children with their food, provides them with a feeling of accomplishment, demonstrates the need for nature in our lives, and is an excellent method to teach numerous important skills.

I’ve seen my son become so enthused about the cherry tomatoes in our garden that he eats them right off the plant! Here are some simple yet useful ideas on how to get kids interested in gardening:

Involve Them from The Beginning

My mother and I used to go to the garden shop when I was a kid. They had a lot of interesting equipment and exhibits, especially the spinning racks with seed packets. Inquire your children about what types of vegetables they would want to grow while you’re there. While you’re there, ask your children what kinds of veggies they’d like to extend. If you buy from a collection, sit down with them and go through it together. They may wish to cultivate some of their favorite meals, such as watermelon or peppers.

You may discover they adore a vegetable you would never have considered. We’ll be growing edamame this year because my son is crazy about it.

Buy them their Tools

Garden tools are often large, heavy, and difficult for little hands to operate. On the other hand, a number of businesses offer children’s garden tools that they may use to accomplish actual tasks. Green Toys offers a robust plastic set made entirely from United States recycled materials.

Kids will be more invested in the project if they have their equipment. They’ll be able to participate more readily and minimize the risk of injuring themselves or you. There’s no way to guarantee they won’t steal your tools anyhow.

Give Them a Job

Small children adore feeling like their efforts are making a difference. (Aren’t we all?) If at all feasible, look for something they can accomplish on their own with minimal assistance from you. If they do it incorrectly, it needs to be something that the garden will not be severely damaged.

My three-year-old daughter’s regular chores at our home include filling a flowerpot with Dirt to germinate seeds and weeding around our garden fence. Composting is also an excellent, simple job for youngsters to do if you shred newspaper and deposit it in the composter.

Incorporate Play to Teach About Nature

I use “lasagna gardening” or sheet mulching, a form of recycling. This is when you layer several types of organic matter on top of each other before planting straight into it. Because I don’t live on a farm where I could use a straw, I prefer to use leaves instead. In the fall, my son and I rake up massive mounds of leaves together. It isn’t, however, a task to be taken seriously. He plunges in joyfully, and even I plop down occasionally.

Give Them Their Own Space

Digging in the Dirt was one of my favorite pastimes as a youngster. If you can, set aside some garden area just for them. Last year, I wanted to create a play area for my children in their backyard. If that isn’t an option, try to set aside a portion of the garden where nothing is growing.

Explain What You Are Doing and Why

It feels like magic to children when they discover that food grown in the Dirt is edible, but it’s quite scientific and mathematical. Planting seeds may lead to a discussion about plant life cycles. It’s possible that measuring out where to put plants might help kids learn about competitions for resources and tape measure usage. Telling them about propagating snake plant, harvesting strawberries, reviving drooping aloe plant, or caring for young seedlings may increase their enthusiasm.

Talk to your kids about their doings to develop their gardening abilities while offering a real-world use  for much of what they learn in school. Planting an eatable edible garden or a tasting garden may get them enthusiastic about the rewards of their sweat.

Read Books, Media and Listen to Music About Gardening

Vegetable gardening may be so colorful that it lends itself well to children’s stories. Growing Vegetable Soup is a wonderful start for very young children. Up in the Plot, Down in the Dirt is a beautiful description of what each season entails for older kids.

This book also includes a glossary that explains some of the more common garden pests and allies. Rachel’s Day in the Garden is an enjoyable and charming book that teaches youngsters about yoga while encouraging them to appreciate nature. PBS has an extensive collection of additional gardening children’s books on its website.

The song The Garden Song depicts the pure pleasure of producing food. The mashup with John Denver and the Muppets is particularly adorable. Swing-funk music for children by Formidable Vegetable Sound System uniquely emphasizes environmental issues, such as gardening.

Nothing compares to growing food together to bring people together. Gardening can bring families together in a unique way. I hope these suggestions help you get started planting food with your kids!