Garden Fun for Kids

Spring is the perfect time to begin planning for your summer garden.  Don't have a garden?  Kids will still enjoy these great ideas and learn how to 'create a garden' no matter where they live.

Gear Up for Gardening

Make sure you have some of the necessary supplies:

• a garden, or pots with soil in them
• garden gloves
• seeds (try a few different kinds)
• a watering can and garden tools (if you have kid-sized versions of these, it's even more fun).

Visit a Garden/Flower Store

Kids will enjoy choosing their own seeds or seedlings, so a field trip to the garden store is a must for this theme day!  Ask your kids to think about what they want to grow this year - or if you're a first time gardener, staff at the store will be a great resource! 

Fun things to do at garden stores:

• Many stores have mini-gardens set up, sometimes there will be water fountains or small bridges kids can explore.
• Earl May and Suburban Lawn & Garden stores have popcorn machines so you can munch while you look.
• Look at the plants and see what you might want to grow.  Fun choices for kids might be:
  • vegetables (many can be grown in pots)
  • moon flowers
  • sun flowers
  • herbs (their smell is amazing and you can use them in cooking)

Online Fun & Learning

• Visit Kids Gardening to read what kids can learn by gardening at various ages.
• Explore dirt, bugs and gardens with Dora in Dora's Magical Garden or with Arthur & friends in Arthur's Groovy Garden - kids will love to color, play games and learn about gardening.
• Nourish has a great variety of printables for kids - print a garden journal, match tools to their garden job, make bookmarks and more!
• The Kids Garden also has some wonderful printable garden puzzles.

Garden Crafts

• Use popscicle sticks to make plant markers - kids can color them with markers or paint them.  Don't forget to write the type of seed you planted too!

• Here are some wonderful garden crafts to brighten up your plants:

Make Mini-Garden Journals -- Red Ted Art

Handprint Garden Markers -- Reading Confetti

Fairy & Elf Houses in the Garden -- Growing Green Fingered Kids

Painted Rock Plant markers -- LuBird Baby

• Make a Garden Stone - kits are available at most craft or garden stores

One of the Best Known Garden Movies

 "The Secret Garden" which began as a book and was made into a movie, is a story about friendship, courage and secret places. 

 Beautiful Books for Young Kids

 "Jack's Garden" by Henry Cole is a beautifully illustrated book about a boy who plants a flower garden - kids get to see the process of growing plants from start to bloom.

"The Gardener" by Sarah Stewart shows how Lydia Grace brings beauty to her Uncle and the whole neighborhood during the Great Depression.

Non-fiction Reads = Fun + Learning

 "The Magic School Bus Plants Seeds:  A Book about How Living Things Grow" by Joanna Cole - a great series for kids who ask 'how' and 'why'.

"From Seed to Plant" by Gail Gibbons - detailed explanations about the plant life cycle and how plants develop.

For Older Kids (even Teens)

 "The Good Garden:  How One Family Went from Hungry to Having Enough" by Katie Smith Milway - this is an inspiring story about a family in Honduras, and how sustainable gardening is helping many to eat better around the world.  Highly recommended for kids ages 8 - teenagers.

Garden Guides for Families

All three of these books are wonderful resources if you're gardening with kids.  They each have fun ideas, information about a variety of plants that can be grown and ways to put together themed gardens.