Here's 10 ideas to get kids involved in the garden!
Young children love gardening. The outdoor world holds such joy for small people who can be inspired by the wonders of nature to a point where it influences their future life. Every minute spent in the garden as a pre-school child or primary pupil is a valuable experience, especially during our era of digital obsession.
Get ready for National Children's Gardening Week
The month of May plays host to National Childrens Gardening Week
, when families and schools are encouraged to get kids involved with gardening. This doesnt need to be an onerous task. There are simple projects that can be started on a kitchen table on a rainy day, then continued outside when its dry.
What can you plant with kids?
Planting seeds in eggboxes, for example. What could be simpler? Sunflower seeds start to sprout soon after planting and they can be enjoyed indoors before finding a sheltered spot in the garden.
Planting sunflowers is so easy, it's the perfect activity for small children.
are great too because the seeds are large and tactile just right for little fingers to push into the compost. You can also get young gardeners to decorate yoghurt pots or empty eggshells to look like heads, then fill with compost and sow with cress or grass seed. As the seed sprouts it will look like hair what fun!
There are two activities in one here: decorating an eggshell and then filling it with compost before planting cress or grass seed. A great activity for kids.
Supported by the National Garden Gift Voucher scheme
, National Childrens Gardening Week officially takes place from 26 May, but why wait until then? You can enthuse your small people so easily and enable them to enjoy the rest of the spring and long summer days outdoors. Encourage them to get their hands dirty and give them lots of ideas they will become enthralled by all the garden has to offer.
Simple fun is the best! Get the kids out in the garden this spring and give them an interest that might last forever.
Follow Facebook for ideas for kids
If you or your school cares to follow National Childrens Gardening Week on Facebook
, you will have access to great little projects including using bags for vegetable growing (potato sacks
are so easy!).
Potato grow bags are available from Perfectplants.co.uk and they offer a simple yet wise choice, especially if garden space is sparse.
Giving kids some small-sized tools is also a winner.
Buy them a little watering can
that they can fill and lift easily its a great way to give them a truly useful job to perform.
This dolphin watering can is great for kids in the garden! Available from Perfectplants.co.uk, there is also a flying pig version!
But take heed of fobbing them off with little plastic tools that dont work. Some of the mini- trowels and forks make digging in the soil practically impossible. Most children will soon lose interest or prefer to use your full-sized working tools instead. There are proper scaled-down versions of the real thing that work perfectly.
How about making paper pots with the kids? There are kits available which make this job into a lot of fun.
Gardening at School
Did you know that nine out of 10 primary schools participate in some sort of school gardening? Around a third of these schools feature gardening within the curriculum, whilst others offer the activity as an after-school or lunchtime club. Most primary school teachers agree that gardening helps to improve pupils behaviour
as well as both their physical and mental wellbeing. It also encourages kids to practice their fine motor skills and helps them to learn how to work in a team, thereby improving their social skills.
Many schools promote gardening, recognising that it's really good for pupils.
On the government's agenda
Next year, in 2019, the government plans a designated Year of Green Action
and it wants more primary schools to create nature-friendly school grounds, vegetable, flower and wildlife gardens and even forest schools. This is all great news and parents are also encouraged to develop the activity at home.
Kids love being outside, and don't even need sunshine!
How gardening grows healthy people
Research by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS)
suggests that children really do perform better at school if they are activity involved with gardening. They are also likely to develop an interest in healthy eating if they grow their own vegetables too.
Grow your own is a lifestyle choice than can make you feel happier.
Its never too early to start! Even babies enjoy looking at fluttering leaves, colourful and scented flowers and buzzy bees in the garden. Try the great outdoors this spring, its good for everyone!
Leaves moving in the breeze can be soothing for babies.
Everyone loves a game and there are so many you can play in the garden.
From a home-made treasure hunt and simple den-building through to purpose-made giant wooden building blocks;
These giant wooden building blocks provide a great garden game for adults and kids!
archery, and tyre swings made to look like horses,
there really is something to inspire all ages.
Go for a ride on this recycled tyre swing! He's great!
Heres a few ideas to set you up for the summer:
Teepee play tent - this is suitable for indoor use or out.
- Giant wooden tower-building blocks similar to Jenga: stack them high and carefully remove individual blocks without the tower collapsing. £24.85 (+ postage)
- Tyre swing in the shape of a horse: made from recycled tyres and comes complete with a rope mane. Maximum weight 14 stone (90kg). Includes rope to hang the tyre swing from a tree. £78.95 (+p&p)
- Teepee play tent, complete with removable feather garland, toy arrows and dress-up mask and wings. Height 190cm, base diameter 130cm. £49.95 (+p&p).
Spray the plants with this fun elephant! Just right for little hands.
- Elephant water sprayer perfect for little hands. The elephant tusks are the trigger. Size: 23cm x 14cm x 18cm. £6.50 + p&p
A farmyard bucket small enough for little hands. There's a lot of fun to be had with one of these!
All available from Perfectplants.co.uk.
- Mini garden metal bucket displaying a picture of a farm animal. Measures 24cm x 17cm x 24cm. £6.99 (+p&p)