Please note: I am a participant of the Amazon Services Associates Program and have included “affiliate links” for all the toys. This means that when you click the pictures or links provided and make a purchase, I receive a small commission on the toy at no extra cost to you. You can read more about the Amazon Associates Program here.
Kids Grow as They Garden!
Maybe you’ve never gotten into gardening. Or perhaps you’ve treated it as a solitary activity? Either way, gardening with kids can be a great bonding experience and also offer enormous developmental benefits. It’s never too late to get started to involve the kids in gardening! If you’re looking for new toy ideas, I’d like to suggest gardening as one.
And here is why!
Your children can gain tons of benefits through all the activities related to growing things:
Strengthen small and large muscles (from sorting tiny seeds to dragging that bag of soil)
Learn/practice color names (on seed packets, in pictures, and on plants, themselves)
Reinforce number skills (count seeds/plants, measure plant growth, measure plant food)
Practice sorting/grouping skills with seeds and plants
Follow directions (verbal, in pictures, and reading)
Learn a further appreciation for nature
Become familiar with plant names and the insects and other critters who may visit
Take responsibility for nurturing a living, growing thing.
For a child to see a plant grow from seeds they have started can be satisfying and magical. It also teaches them delayed gratification as seeds take time to grow. Kids will need to remember to water them everyday to reap the benefits.
How to Get the Kids Involved
Mail order plant companies have colorful online catalogs and will often send print catalogs right to your home, as well. Talk over some simple gardening goals with the children. Then let them help you plan and choose the seeds and/or plants. Kids also enjoy trips to the greenhouse, where they can see, touch, and smell the various options. If you’re looking for something simpler to start. There are plenty of toy options that introduce gardening. Some that I like are
Paint & Plant Flower Growing Kit
Sprout & Grow Window
My Fairy Garden - Lily Pond
Sow Much Fun Mini Garden
Light-up Dino World Terrarium
Kids First Botany - Experimental Greenhouse Kit
Nature's Blossom Exotic Vegetable Garden Kit
Depending on ages, children may help sow the seeds indoors and out or plant established vegetables and flowers directly outdoors. They can either get their hands dirty or wear gardening gloves designed for kids. Chances are, they’ll get dirty, either way and have a great deal of fun in the process! Don’t think dirty, think sensory play! Special garden tools are available just for kids, or you might opt for a small trowel that could be theirs, alone.
How to Incorporate STEAM into the Gardening Experience
(Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math)
S – Discover that plants need water and a certain amount of sunlight to grow.
T – Use the computer for research, ordering supplies, and keeping a plant journal.
E – Help to design efficient supports for the pole beans, tomatoes, and climbing flowers.
A – Read or listen to fiction and non-fiction related to gardening. Make leaf or petal art.
M – Track plant growth in a journal. Use a calendar to note watering/fertilizing schedules.
Bonus Indoor Growing Activity
For those weeks (or months!) when growing conditions may not be great outdoors and the kids become bored with your indoor plants, here’s a fun activity to try … a dish garden!
What you’ll need:
A Dinner-sized plate that curves up around the edges
Variety of root vegetables – carrots, turnips, parsnips, and radishes
Decorative items such as those used in fish tanks – ceramic bridges and buildings, pretty gravel, glass fish, and the like.
Next,
1. Adults cut off the bottom of each veggie, so they are flat, placing on plate with the “leaf ends” up.
2. Children arrange decorative items around the vegetables.
3. Place plate on a solid surface where it won’t be in the way.
4. Using a small watering can or measuring cup, child slowly adds a small amount of water to the plate, with help as needed.
5. Check the veggies each day to see what happens!
Discuss: Children make predictions of what will happen. They could measure and keep track of growth and outcomes in a plant journal. Why does the leaf growth happen? Talk about the concept of “root” vegetables.
Gardening resources to explore with your child:
https://www.pbs.org/parents/thrive/best-gardening-books-for-kids