Gardening with children has a positive influence on the development of the little ones. The curiosity of the little ones is aroused, they take responsibility and get to know themselves as part of nature. In addition, they experience the different stages of the development of plants and understand where the fruit and vegetables from the supermarket come from.
How do you get kids interested in gardening?
Make the garden child-friendly
Awakening children’s love of gardening begins with garden design. You can ask them to help you choose decorative garden screens (https://www.luxuryscreens.co.uk/product-category/decorative-garden-screens/). This way, their artistic skills can be developed.
Planning your own garden project
You can plan a garden project with the children in winter before the gardening season begins. Co-determination is an important factor in stimulating interest in plants. Don’t take on too much. Growing one or two types of plants is usually enough to start with.
Playful gardening methods
Gardening should be fun for children, not work. You should therefore accompany your project with other educational activities such as designing a garden for animals, keeping old gardening customs alive, telling garden stories, drawing with plant colors, and processing the harvest into beautiful gifts from the garden.
Which plants are suitable for gardening with children?
Children want to see success quickly. This also applies to gardening. It is therefore advisable to cultivate fast-growing, robust, and easy-care plants with the little ones. Radishes, nasturtiums, marigolds, and sunflowers are ideal for sowing. Even if it takes a while for the seedlings to appear, the educational value is very high. When sowing, children learn about the various stages of development that a seed goes through to the “finished” plant.
Planting young plants is also a great experience for children. Planting lettuce, herbs, and tomatoes is particularly popular. In addition, there are also ornamental plants that appeal to the senses with their scent or their soft leaves. In any case, make sure to only use non-toxic plants. You should also be careful with plants with thorns and prickles.
Which tool is suitable for gardening with children?
By learning how to use garden tools, children develop their motor skills. For the little ones, however, the normal tools are often too heavy and unwieldy. Depending on the size of the child, it can therefore make sense to use special children’s tools. There are mini shovels and small watering cans that even children can handle. Pointed and sharp-edged garden tools should be kept out of reach. If the children are older, they can also work with normal garden tools under supervision.