5 Kids Gardening Activities

Kids love getting their hands dirty and being outdoors. There are so many benefits associated with kids gardening activities.

Through this physical development activity, children can develop their object control skills, locomotor skills as well as body management skills while learning about the different plant species and what they need to grow.

Kids learn invaluable life lessons while keeping active and practicing their social skills.

There is no better way to spend time as a family and enjoy the warmer weather than to enjoy a bit of gardening.

Have a look at these great kids gardening activities:

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1. Planting seeds and watching them grow

Kids are fascinated with the idea of planting a seed, taking care of it and watching it grow. This activity teaches them responsibility and a valuable life lesson on how to take care of something. If you are also new to gardening you can learn with your kids – check lamour et fleurs for great gardening tips.

What you need:

• Biodegradable pots or egg containers
• Potting soil
• Spray bottle for watering
• Seeds
• Craft sticks

Instructions:

• Fill the biodegradable pots or empty egg three quarter to the top with potting soil.
• Place two to three seeds in the child’s hand (just in case one doesn’t make it).
• Let them plant the the seeds in the soil.
• Plant a craft stick with the name of the type of plant in the pot.
• Water them daily with a spray water bottle to ensure the plants get watered with a light mist.
• Watch the delight on your child’s face when they see the sprouts come up.

2. Making rock bugs

Making little stone creatures is a lot of fun and easy to make. This activity is also great to capture your child’s imagination and to get their creative juices flowing.

What you need:

• Different shaped rocks or pebbles
• Coloured felt tip pens
• Clear varnish

Instructions:

• Draw the character of your choice on the rock with the felt tip pens. (Great examples are: Spider, Ladybird, Bumble bee, Mouse, Hedgehog and Caterpillar).
• Wait until the ink is dry and paint a coat of clear varnish on the picture to protect your creation from rainy weather.

3. Making an owl bird feeder

This cute and easy project will put a smile on any child’s face and the birds in your garden will love you for it.

What you need:

• An empty juice carton
• Stanley knife
• Plastic bottle lids
• Googly eyes
• Craft sticks
• Enamel paint for the garden (best option to use, as they are waterproof)
• Glue gun or good quality PVA glue

Instructions:

• Paint the carton with two coats of enamel paint and leave to dry.
• Use a Stanley knife to cut out a tummy and wings into the bottom half of the juice carton. Don’t cut the wings all out as you want to keep the flaps attached.
• Use the cut-out tummy to cut a beak shape.
• Glue on your bottle caps and then the googly eyes on top of the caps.
• Make a small incision in the box below the tummy and insert a craft stick where the birds can sit while they’re feeding.

4. Making a terrarium

Your child will love doing this activity. They can use their imagination to create the perfect little garden in a jar.

What you need:

• Wide mouth glass jars with lids
• Small pebbles
• Activated charcoal
• Soil Cuttings from succulents
• Small plastic figurines
• Spray bottle for watering

Instructions:

• Scoop a few pebbles into the jar.
• Scoop charcoal into the jar.
• Scoop some soil into the jar.
• Place two plastic figurines into the jar.
• Snip off pieces of the succulent plant and stick them into the soil.
• Water the terrarium with spray from the spray bottle.
• Close the lid.

And there you have it. Your child’s own terrarium to nurture.

5. Making a cute garden wind chime

This is a relatively easy kid’s garden craft idea which your child will love doing and it is a sweet way of decorating your garden.

What you need:

• Old gardening pot
• Waterproof string
• Assorted plastic or glass beads (with big holes for easy stringing)
• Paint
• 2 Washers
• Kitchen tray (to minimize the mess)
• Waterproof sealant spray (optional)

Instructions:

• Use two or three pieces of string of different lengths and start adding beads to them and tie them at the end. For extra effect you can use butterfly or character beads on the bottom before tying the ends.
• Place the flower pot face down and pour the first colour of paint over the top. Add a second colour of paint into the centre of the first puddle. Let your child use their hands to whirl the paint around and allow it to pour over the edge. This is a great new technique and the layered paint droppings will give a wonderful after-effect. Leave the paint to dry.
• After the pot has dried, spray some waterproof sealant over the paint layer. This will protect your wind chime from weather elements and prevent the paint from chipping or fading.
• When everything has dried, tie the bead string securely to the first washer, leaving a few inches of space at the top. Poke your bead strings through the holes on top of the pot and tie them together securely with a second washer on the inside of the pot.
• Tie the strings together into a knot at the end, creating a loop to hang the wind chime.

These colourful wind chimes are so much fun to make and hanging a few of them in a tree or on the veranda will give your garden a whimsical and fun look.

 Conclusion:

There are so many great kids gardening activities that you can do with your child to spend some quality family time together while teaching them valuable life lessons, improving different development skills, inspiring them to be creative and most importantly having fun while doing so.

You can do all these garden craft activities by using objects and supplies that you already have at your disposal.