Kids Gardening Activities And Fun Projects To Get Your Family Growing

It’s getting warmer outside and green thumbs are itching!  Kids and adults alike are ready to get outside and soak up the sunshine with family garden projects. And, though summertime is knocking, it’s not too late to include kids gardening activities into your homeschool lesson plans. To simplify things, you can even find printable gardening lesson plans online.  Preschoolers and beyond will love to get their hands dirty, get creative, and learn about the life cycle with these fun ideas. 

Pro tip: Before you begin, a few props may help make things exciting and give children ownership over their projects. Printable garden journals and their very own watering cans and gloves are great places to start.  

Garden Crafts

Rain or shine, indoors or out, crafts for kids are a great way to personalize and decorate your family garden. So bust out the glue, paint, and glitter! Here are some creative garden art ideas.

DIY Bird Feeder

It turns out, you can make a birdfeeder out of almost anything. Plastic bottles are a favorite material, but what about cans, legos, and toilet paper rolls? Odds are, you already have the materials lying around your home! Here are some amazing ideas for kids diy bird feeders.

DIY Birdhouse

Now that you have your feeders out, your whole family will love to watch little bird families grow in your own DIY birdhouse. Just as with bird feeders, birdhouses can be made from almost anything. Some of my favorites include lego birdhouses, the ever-popular gourd birdhouse, milk carton birdhouses, or if you have the power tools and really want to feel accomplished, here is a guide to building the classic wooden birdhouse. It can be just as edifying to purchase premade houses for painting. Amazon even has  birdhouse painting kits which include brushes and paint. No sweat!

Garden Markers

Garden markers allow kids to really think outside the box. Creating labels for your plants can be an artistic way for kids to become familiar with new plants and put their own unique fingerprint on your family garden.  There are a million different approaches to creating plant markers. Some popular materials include popsicle sticks, painted bottles, stones, paper plates, and recycled cans. You can also mix up some salt dough garden signs. 

Decorative Plant Pots

If you plan to create a container garden with your family (you totally should! See more below) why not take it to the next level by decorating your pots! You can make this as big or small of a project as you like.  Even two-year olds can create priceless pieces with some nontoxic finger paint and a terracotta pot. For older kids who want to flex their craftiness, I love these drip paint pots. Even better, decoupage pots with colorful fabric, paper, and printed photos. 

Garden Activities

After glitter and glue, your kids may be ready to get their hands in some actual dirt. Let’s do it! These garden activities for kids can expand the imagination and grow their appreciation for all living things.

Build a Terrarium

A terrarium makes the perfect first garden project because they are beautiful and oh, so simple. Plus, it’s fascinating to watch as an entire ecosystem develops within a glass jar! Fill your terrarium with your child’s choice of stones, soil, beautiful succulents, and maybe even moss (I love moss).  Then sunlight and occasional watering are all they will need. Here is a step by step guide to make your own terrarium.

Create a Fairy Garden

For those of you who are unfamiliar, these are miniature gardens often complete with little bitty bridges, sculptures, or even waterfalls. Feel free to be as elaborate as you like, but you will be amazed at how easy it is. All you need are the right low growing plants, then go to town on the decorations. Fairy gardens make an adorable centerpiece for your dining table or outdoor garden. Here you will find more details, especially on what plants and materials will be best when you build your fairy garden.

Pro tip: incorporating blue stones and seashells will turn your fairy garden into a mermaid garden. This realization made me very popular with the young ones in my family. 

Container Gardening And Growing Your Own Salad

Planting a container garden is a fun, space-saving way to teach kids to care for flowers or to grow their own vegetables. If you like, you can first decorate your pots, then make a plan. One creative way for kids to plan their container garden is the ‘grow your own salad ‘approach. Instead of shopping for veggies, shop for seeds. Not only will you enjoy planting your vegetable garden together, but it’s a yummy, hands-on way for children to learn about how things grow and where their food comes from. 

While you’re at it, this can be a great time to learn all about the world of composting. You can turn your kitchen scraps into plant food and it makes for an exciting lesson. You can even find handy (no smell) countertop composting bins on Amazon to make things nice and easy, especially for small space living. 

 

Build  A Play Garden 

Give your young ones their very own play garden! My own mom used this trick to keep us from pulling up each flower right behind her as she planted, but it’s not just an excellent distraction. A play garden can be the ultimate sensory stimulating experience. Making a play garden provides a safe space for young children to play, build, and explore gardening for the first time. 

Seed Bombs

Want to make gardening look like magic? It’s so simple, I can hardly believe it. Mix these up, toss them into your flower garden, or any open area, and watch flowers explode! Not literally, but they will grow and the bursts of color are just magical. Here’s how to make your own seed bombs.

Grass Heads

Do you remember chia pets? Of course you do! So cute, and super simple, but what I didn’t realize then was just how easy it is to create your own living, growing, little friend from household items. There are fun DIY ways to make grass heads from pantihose and from eggshells. You can even create your own living Christmas ornaments, with some chia seeds and water. It’s a gardening activity and Holiday activity, all in one. Huzzah! 

There you have it. Gardening activities are the perfect way to keep the creativity flowing and introduce kids to the wonderful world of growing things. Gardening has the power to awake the senses, inspire creativity and responsibility, as well as provide a great respect for all living things. I hope these simple ideas inspire you and your family to get growing!