4 – 6 hours.
That’s how often kids spend on their screens—per day.
That number rises to around 9 hours per day once the teen years hit.
As parents and grandparents, it’s our job to encourage curiosity and creativity among our kids away from the screen. One way we can do that is by introducing our children to the joys of gardening.
Below are 5 fun gardening activities for kids. Green thumbs—let’s start ‘em young!
Make a mini garden with egg cartons.
Teach your kids the fun of gardening from seeds—AND upcycling—with this mini garden project using egg cartons.
For this project, you’ll need:
- Paper egg carton
- Kid-friendly Scissors
- Sharp pencil
- Garden soil
- Seeds
Cut the lid off a paper egg carton, then poke a drainage hole with a pencil in the bottom of each egg “holder”—these will serve as mini “pots” for planting your seeds. Fill each egg bottom up halfway with garden soil. Plant 2 – 3 seeds in each holder, then cover with another layer of soil. For older kids, you can teach them how to follow the directions on the seed pack for soil depth, watering, and sunlight requirements.
Then have fun watching your seedlings sprout! Once seedlings are mature enough, you can transplant them into a larger pot or your in-ground garden.
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Paint homemade garden markers.
Is your child a budding Picasso? Break out the paints, find a few smooth stones at your local craft or home & garden store, and let them create homemade garden markers with each plant name to place in your garden.
Not only will your child get to add their creative touch to the garden, but this is also an easy way to teach them how to identify different plants in the garden.
Build your own bird feeder.
Feed the birds—and nurture your young bird watchers’ curiosity—with this easy and inexpensive pine cone bird feeder.
For this project, you’ll need:
- A pine cone (the broader, the better)
- String or twine
- Peanut butter
- Bird seed
Find the full bird feeder instructions from The Spruce.
Add a splash of color to your watering can.
Painting a watering can is another fun way to encourage your child’s inner artist.
For this project, you’ll want to use outdoor acrylic paint; you can generally find this type of water-resistant paint in the gardening section of your nearby craft store.
Choose a metal watering can, rather than plastic, as these provide a better base for paint to adhere to. Depending on the color of the watering can, you may want to paint a foundational layer of white on the watering can so your child’s designs can really shine.
After the paint has dried, your child’s watering can is ready to add a splash of color to your garden!
Lend a hand with these homemade garden stepping stones.
Have your child lend a hand—literally—by immortalizing their handprints into decorative cement garden stones. The easiest way to make these one-of-a-kind garden stepping stones is to begin with a kit, like this one from Hobby Lobby.
Depending on your child’s age, you may need to supervise. From hand prints to pretty rocks and gems, let your child’s imagination take the lead when designing these. Once the garden stones have dried, let your child choose where to display the new garden stones.
We hope you have fun with these 5 gardening activities for kids!
