Mother Earth’s Garden

6 Ways to Encourage Children To Enjoy Gardening

by linette on April 14th, 2008

Gardening doesn’t have to be a dreaded chore for children, a way for parents to torture them every summer (unless you want to torture your children every summer).

Here are a 6 ways you can encourage your children to enjoy their time in the garden.

1. Let them have their own spot in the garden to dig for worms, catch bugs, or just dig in the dirt. My son loved to build dirt roads to drive his tractors and cars on when he was younger. He also got excited when he unearthed an earthworm.

2. Let your children have their own personal garden in a small corner of your garden. Allow them to decide what they’re planting there. They can be responsible for caring for (and take pride in) their corner of the garden.

3. Create a garden journal to chronicle your gardening journey. Everyday sit down with your child so you can write and draw what they see happening in the garden. You can also take photos to add to your journal.

4. Get them their own kid size garden tools to work alongside you in the garden. 

5. Make it family time. In the winter we play games in the evenings as a family, during the summer we “play” in the garden.

6. Grow some plants indoors before the gardening season. Grow them in a clear cup to show your child the miracle of how plants grow. Get them interested in the project.

The main thing is to let them have fun with gardening whatever their age. Encourage their love for nature and all things growing.

Image: (c) Linette Gerlach

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POSTED IN: Gardening with Kids