Simple and Fun Gardening Activities for Kids
If your kids are eager to join you in the garden, give them a few simple tasks like digging holes, planting seeds, or watering plants. Dedicate a small garden bed or container just for them and try these creative gardening activities for kids.
Friendship Fort
Set sturdy bamboo poles in a circle large enough for two or three children to sit in the center. Leave enough room between one pair of poles for a small person to crawl in. Gently pull the poles together at the top and tie them with twine, enclosing the interior. Plant pole or scarlet runner bean seeds at the base of each pole. Keep the beans watered as they grow, and in a few short weeks, you’ll have a secret hideaway surrounded by vines.
Theme Beds
Let the kids choose a plan for a garden bed. A rainbow garden would include plants that represent each of the colors, such as red peppers, orange carrots, yellow squash, green lettuce, and purple eggplant. Maybe they’d prefer a pizza garden where the crops are organized in a circle with different wedges for each ingredient, such as tomatoes, onions, oregano, and a grain like wheat or oats. Plant a flower-filled butterfly garden and they’ll watch in awe as the winged wonders stop by for nectar.
Container Life
A large flower pot can turn into a home for toy people, animals, and vehicles. Ask the kids to build a small house with plastic blocks and place it in the center of a container full of potting soil. Surround the building with a few plants, then have the kids position the toys so they’re interacting with each other and the plants. The scene can stay the same all season or change as often as the kids like.
Kitchen Scrap Revival
The parts of plants that get thrown away can be restarted and then planted in the garden. The bottom of celery stalks, sprouting potatoes and sweet potatoes, carrot tops, and many other kitchen scraps are easy to regenerate in a dish or glass of water on a sunny windowsill. Once new roots appear, you can move plants into outdoor beds.
Seed Bombs
To create a seed bomb, give the kids clay from craft stores and dampened potting soil, along with fast-germinating seeds like radishes and wildflowers. After they mix the three ingredients thoroughly, they can form firm balls with their hands. Allow the balls to dry out, then toss them where you want them to grow or share them with friends.
Garden Scavenger Hunt
Give children a list of things to find in and around the garden, including leaves and stems, different colored flowers, seeds and seed pods, crawling insects and flying insects, and more. Let them use a cell phone camera to snap pictures of their discoveries. Each child who completes the list gets a prize along with a deeper awareness of the world outside their door.
