How To Get Your Kids Involved In Gardening
Blog Entry by Special Guest Blogger: Maria Cannon
Photo via Pixabay by StockSnap
For those who love to garden, spending time outdoors and making things grow is the epitome of fun. It can be extremely rewarding to plant a seed and care for it, watching it grow over time into a beautiful or bountiful plant. It’s a pastime that requires quite a bit of patience and the ability to nurture. These are wonderful things for children to learn, so if you’ve been thinking about teaching your child how to garden, now is the time.
One of the best ways to get your child interested in gardening is to simply frame it in a way that makes sense to them. If they love learning about science, they’ll love figuring out how the seed takes energy from the sun and soil to grow. Gardening can even help your child learn about math, as plotting out grids for seeds requires some mathematical skill.
Many kids enjoy gardening simply because it allows them to play outside, get in the dirt and experiment with new things. Here are a few of the best ways to get your child involved in creating and tending a garden.
Start them early
If you love plants and all things garden, start your child’s love of it early. Just being around nature and being allowed to play outside and explore will help build a love of plants and trees. When you’re outdoors with your child, be sure to point out different types of plants and flowers and name them, or give an interesting fact about the way they grow or what uses they have. Kids always love learning cool things about seemingly normal items.
Make sure they have the right tools
Once your child shows an interest in helping you in the yard, make sure he has the right tools for his size. Not only will it help him stay motivated, but it will also keep him safe. You don’t have to go overboard and spend a ton of money. Gardening gloves, a shovel, trowel and weeding tool, a hose with spray nozzle, a hand pruner, and a rake are perfect to start with. Go over the rules of safety with him before beginning; you can find some helpful tips on getting started here.
Let them have their own space
Gardening is a great way to teach your child responsibility, so consider creating a small space that’s just for him. Giving him his own plot to take care of will encourage him to check on it and maintain it every day. Let him pick out the seeds he wants and talk to him about how much and how often to water them and when to expect to see results. Young children may not understand that it takes a while for a plant to sprout, so this is an especially important concept for them.
Plant something good to eat
One great way to make sure your child will love gardening is to appeal to his stomach! Suggest planting delicious veggies that your whole family can enjoy once they’re harvested; if he’s not into veggies by themselves, call it a “taco garden” and plant cilantro, peppers, and tomatoes. After you’ve harvested your bounty, have a taco night at home.
Keep a record of the progress
It can be difficult for kids to see the true progress of a plant since it’s a long process, so keep a record of growth by taking pictures every day of an area of the garden. Once the plants are in full bloom or harvested, show your child the pictures so he can get a feeling for how it all came to be.
Do be patient during the process of teaching your child about gardening, especially if he’s very young. Don’t overwhelm him with a lot of facts at once, and let him play when he’s ready for a break. Most importantly, allow him to make mistakes so that he can learn from them. Gardening is a wonderful skill that he can learn over time and carry with him into his future.
