Growing kids benefit from seeing how other living things change and grow. They learn about the rhythm of life and basic nurturing skills. While animals are great, there are lots of children that don’t live on a farm, or even in a house with a yard. That’s why plants hold a natural magnetism for little ones. Encourage your child’s green thumb with these fun plant-based activities.
The Little Gardener
(Teenie Greenies) This rhyming board book helps prepare your little gardener for a season of gardening. The text explores the tools and the process of growing flowers and vegetables from seed. Your little one can lift the flaps in the book to peek at the plants that are growing. Discussing not only gardening objects, the book explores the process of growing a garden, helping her to see that her new plants will not grow over night and teaching the beginning of patience.
Light-up Terrarium
What could be better than a tiny garden for your child? What about a tiny garden that doubles as a nightlight. This terrarium is a whole world of plants that fits on your child’s desk or shelf. The kit comes with soil, seeds and decorations, so all you need is water and light. Simply plant the seeds in the soil and add the decorations as you see fit. Your child can water and tend the plants, then at night, watch as it turns into a little jungle to lull him to sleep.
Grow a Little Love
It’s important that children understand how flexible plants can be. They move into any space they can survive. This little, heart-shaped garden shows your child that plants can grow almost anywhere. The little kit includes growing medium, chia seeds and a heart-shaped gardening pan. This is the perfect activity for a class or party. You simple plant the seeds and watch you’re your child’s heart grows.
Tickle Me Plant Greenhouse
“Tickle Me” plants are a species that actually fold up when touched. Tiny hairs on the leaf register touch and the leaves fold up to protect themselves from damage. Your child can grow this fascinating plant from seed. The kit comes with growing medium, seeds and pots, everything you need to start your own pet plant. It even has its own mini “greenhouse” that your child can paint with the included colors.
My Fairy Garden
This kit adds a note of whimsey to your child’s gardening skills. The garden comes with soil, seeds, pot and decorations to create your very own fairy habitat. The bottom of the pot doubles as a storage place for the toy fairy and her accessories, so there is no mess. So, you can encourage your child’s science skills as you inspire her imagination, with one self-contained unit.
Miracle Gro Flower Garden Kit
This is the flower kit that is backed by the Miracle Gro name. It includes everything you need to fill a planter with bright and beautiful flowers. It has growing medium, seeds and plant food to ensure that your blooms are the brightest they can be. Your child can even decorate the kit’s planter with the included paint.
Sow and Grow Seed Starter Kit
Vegetables don’t actually grow in the freezer case of your local supermarket. While this seems obvious to us, for kids, this is a huge concept. You can encourage your child to explore the world of edible plants with this starter kit. It includes unusual vegetables such as blue corn, yellow cucumbers and purple carrots. When they outgrow the included seedling cups, you can move them to a larger garden and watch as they grow to maturity.
My Funfare Gardening Tools
Watching plants grow from seeds to maturity is a big job, but not too big for your child. These hand tools give your child what he needs to begin his own garden. The trowel is the perfect size for little hands to begin to transplant seedlings into a garden of his own. They come in their own handy toolbelt which makes it easy to store between garden visits.
Toysmith Big Kids Garden Tool Kit
To really tend a garden, you need more than a trowel or hand rake. Any gardener needs real tools. These special, child-sized tools can help your child learn about the work involved with growing a real garden. The tools include a shovel, hoe and both a soil and leaf rake. The bright colors hide the fact that these are real, functional tools. Use care to show your child how to use the tools correctly, since they can cause harm if used improperly. When you are done working in the garden, you can hang them up in the garage or tool shed by their included leather straps.
300 Cooking and Gardening Activities for Kids
Not sure where to start? Check out this book. The authors have years of experience teaching cooking, gardening and nature exploration to 2- through 10-year-olds. So, you can grow new foods for your child to try, then use the enclosed recipes to cook a meal. Growing your veggies gives your child a basic understanding of plants and cooking the recipes encourages reading, measuring and math skills. And, serving up a delicious meal he cooked, gives your child a sense of accomplishment and encourages healthy self worth.
Gardening Lab for Kids
These 52 activities are designed to give you and your child a year’s worth of hands-on plant and garden experience. It includes projects that foster a wide range of skills your child needs in school, such as reading maps, charts and graphs, measure things like water, soil and fertilizer and recognizing their place in the web of life. Each of the “labs” can be used alone, or you can do several together. Either way, prepare yourself and your child for a year of growing.