Gardening for Kids: Get Your Tots Outdoors!

As the weather begins to warm, and the flowers start to bloom, it’s time for some outdoor fun as you introduce your children to the wonderful world of gardening.

Gardening with your children can be an incredibly heart-warming experience as you watch them water plants or talk to the butterflies.

Not only will your child learn about the wonder of nature, but they will also develop a sense of responsibility for their plants and gain several new skills along the way.

6 Benefits of Gardening with Your Little Ones

Gardening isn’t just about digging in the dirt and getting some fresh air, it also provides several benefits to your child’s development.

1. Encourages Physical Activity & Outdoor Play

Gardening is a great way to get your children up and active! Any child will love running around the garden, carrying pots, or watering cans, and getting their hands dirty. Have a look out our range of outdoor toys.

By having your kids join in on the fun, they can burn off excess energy, enjoy the fresh air and develop their coordination and motor skills.

2. Teaches Responsibility & Patience

Children will learn to have patience through tending to their plants and learn the importance of taking care of something and being responsible for its growth.

You can show your child how to water, weed out and fertilise their plants so they can understand the importance of sticking to their commitments, teaching them strong values for the future.

3. Boosts Creativity Through Design

Gardening is the best opportunity to fully express and experiment with your child’s creativity. Have your child choose the layout, colours, textures, and design in general.

You can even have them paint their own pots, and add stickers and other decorations to make the garden truly unique. Go wild!

Check out our range of arts & crafts to start designing in no time.

4. Improves Mental Health

Studies have shown that gardening is a fantastic benefit for mental health. Gardening reduces stress, anxiety and helps regulate your mood.

Children can experience the calming effect of gardening and the benefit of being surrounded by nature. In the future, the garden can be your child’s safe haven, a place they go to relax and find comfort.

5. Promotes Healthy Eating Habits

Growing your own vegetables and fruits can be a very rewarding process. Children are more likely to try new foods and appreciate fresh produce when they’ve played a part in growing them.

6. Provides Opportunity for Learning

Gardening is a great way to teach your children about science, nature, and the environment. They can observe the cycle of plants, learn about photosynthesis, soil composition, and understand the importance of pollinators in our ecosystem.

Find more educational toys to keep your child learning and developing with The Entertainer.

Tips for Parents and Their Little Gardeners

You will find gardening to be a euphoric experience with your child. Here are some tips to ensure you have a positive and enjoyable gardening experience with your mini-gardener:

Start Small

Start small to maximise learning. We advise beginning with a few containers, and a small patch of soil, and once your child picks up on the basics, then begin to expand on this hobby and build on their interests and skills.

Starting small makes the gardening process easier to manage and maintain, go ahead, and plant some easy-to-grow seeds like sunflowers or strawberries and watch as they grow!

You can also get some gardening sets to make this a lot easier, as many of them include everything needed to get started, and some instructions too!

Get Kid-friendly tools.

Gardening should be exciting and enjoyable for adults and children alike. You can make the process even more enjoyable for your child by using child-friendly tools such as kid-sized gloves, trowels, and watering cans.

This will help your child feel included throughout and be more comfortable in their gardening talents.

Make it fun.

You can make gardening fun for both you and your child by choosing to plant fruits, flowers, and vegetables you both love. Incorporate some garden decorations that can make the garden thrilling such as little gnomes around the garden. Maybe some mini furniture for the gnomes?

Alternatively, play some fun garden games and toys!

Keep it safe.

Take caution as gardening can involve some hazards. Be sure to supervise your little one whilst they use any sharp tools or generally when in the garden. Wearing protective gear such as gloves can keep your child protected.

7 Fun Projects for Children’s Gardening

Gardening can be fun and entertaining. This should be an exciting experience for you and your child to bond over! Here are some engaging projects that you can do together:

1. Plant seeds and inspire a love for the garden.

Planting seeds can be both fun and educational for your child. Choose seeds that are suitable for the UK weather (as we all know how unpredictable it can be). Some seeds that are easy to grow include strawberries, sunflowers, lavender, mint, tomatoes, pumpkins, snap peas, and cacti.

2. Garden Games

Garden games are a great way to keep your little gardener engaged. You can play games like hide and seek, and tag, or arrange a mini obstacle course that will get your child up and moving whilst enjoying the outdoors.

Alternatively, you can add some fun outdoor games to your garden such as pogo sticks, or football toys.

3. Paint Rocks and channel your inner Picasso

Buy a load of different-sized rocks (or collect some) and have your child add some colour to your garden! This is a fun and creative way to decorate the garden and keep your child engaged. Let them choose the designs and colours, then place the rocks all over the garden for a nice personal touch!

4. DIY Birdhouse

Building a birdhouse with your mini carpenter will teach them to care for animals and nature. Don’t worry about having to go out and buy supplies, you can typically get creative and use anything you have at home.

5. Worm Composting

Learning about worm composting can be a fun and educational activity for your child. This teaches children the importance of recycling and composting which involves giving your food scraps to worms to turn into valuable soil.

You can purchase a worm composting bin and watch as your child feeds and cares for the worms as they do what they do best!

6. Garden Scavenger Hunt

You can set up an exciting scavenger hunt to get your child exploring the garden and learning along the way. Plan hints and clues and guide your child in finding things like a Ladybird, a specific flower, or a leaf with jagged edges!

7. Butterfly Garden

Transforming your garden into a butterfly-friendly garden can be a fantastic way to teach your child about the life cycle of butterflies and the importance of pollinators in our ecosystem.

Choose plants and flowers that attract butterflies, such as milkweed or coneflower, get your child planting and watch as butterflies visit your garden.

Summary

There are many ways to enjoy gardening and teach your child skills along the way. From enjoying garden games to building birdhouses and planting your favourite flowers and vegetables! We hope you enjoy this wonderful gardening journey with your mini-gardener.

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