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.
Make sure you have some of the necessary supplies:
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!
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!
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
"The Secret Garden" which began as a book and was made into a movie, is a story about friendship, courage and secret places.
"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.
"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.
"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.
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.