Nature Education | Gardening Courses for Children

Help children connect with nature, starting with their first garden . Here's a gardening guide for kids, introducing some easy-to-grow and care-friendly plants.

My daughters are thrilled that they have their own garden this year. They always help me take care of the plants, but this spring, they chose a planting plan and decided to start from the seeds and create their own unique garden.

▲Let's swing our little hoes!

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The Importance of Experiencing a Complete Life Process

While we do buy some plants, most of the plants in our garden are grown from seeds. One of the biggest advantages of growing from seeds is that it's much cheaper: a small packet of seeds can grow into a dozen (or more) plants, all of which can produce flowers or food, at a fraction of the price of buying those plant products.

▲The joy of harvest

Of course, an even bigger benefit is when you do gardening with your children. A single seed can provide a whole year's worth of science lessons, allowing children to experience the entire cycle of sowing, germination, growth, and harvesting. Throughout the process, they learn about the continuity and cycle of life, and they will learn to collect seeds from plants themselves to prepare for planting the following year.

And you might be pleasantly surprised to find that children who were previously picky eaters have become more willing to try new foods because they have participated in the food production process themselves.

▲Seed Packet

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Top 10 plants for kids

For this "My First Garden" project, I created a seed catalog so the children could choose the plants they wanted to grow. Each child had a seed tray with six compartments, allowing them to choose up to six different types of seeds.

▲Come to my little garden

They might prefer to choose to grow this type of plant:

It can grow very big and tall, or it can be small and never grow big;

It can bloom beautiful flowers;

Once it grows up, you can eat it.

Therefore, based on these needs, the list of plants we obtain might be:

Sweet peas;

Calendula;

Snapdragon;

sunflower;

pea;

Honey beans;

soy;

Various types of lettuce that can grow back after being cut;

radish;

onion;

squash;

Little cucumber.

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How to teach a naughty child to grow plants

There's no real secret to teaching children how to plant, but here are a few tips that might help you make the process fun and educational for your child.

▲ Collaboration in gardening activities

Sowing seeds is an extremely simple thing: find a flowerpot, fill it with soil, sprinkle some compost, water it, and then put in the seeds. But you might as well try these tips:

1. Lay a tablecloth or mat on the work surface. This will help you collect any spilled soil and compost, making cleanup easier and preventing waste.

2. Use some fun and eco-friendly planting containers. This year we opted for seed trays because they are easy to store and can be reused for many years. But you can also use empty cans, supermarket egg cartons, eggshells, or even fruit—like half a grapefruit peel.

3. You may find that using a small spoon to scoop soil is much more convenient and safer than using a shovel, especially when you're filling the small compartments on a tray.

4. Before putting the seeds in, thoroughly water the mixture of soil and compost. Otherwise, children will not be able to control the amount of water, and your seeds may easily be flooded or washed away.

5. Young children love digging in the soil, and their behavior can be difficult to control. They might scatter seeds everywhere, or they might prefer the soil itself to the planting process. Therefore, it's best to provide them with a dedicated area next to your work area where they can play and dig freely, while you can do the actual planting work.

▲ Digging soil with a spoon

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Having fun and learning more during the planting process.

read

Reading the instructions on the seed packet carefully with your child can provide a wealth of information: Is this plant a perennial or an annual? Why do some plants need to be transplanted outdoors only when the weather is warmer? What is the optimal environment for this plant? This process helps children learn to read instructions and expands their vocabulary.

▲ Carefully read the text on the seed packet.

Observation and drawing

Observe the seeds closely, and you can even make a simple sketch of them. They come in so many different shapes, sizes, and colors. My children love guessing what the seeds inside the seed packet will look like before opening it.

▲Let's swing our little hoes!

math

Count the seeds and then distribute them evenly into each cell of the planting tray. This can be quite a challenge for young children.

▲Equal distribution of seeds

Writing

Each child can make their own special label, indicating that a particular seed tray belongs to them and indicating the name of the plant. Writing for a practical purpose is the most natural form of handwriting practice, and children will be very willing to write their names and even learn some new words.

▲Start by labeling the plant names

After planting, remind the children to keep a record of the plant's growth throughout the year.

We use peat-free compost as the substrate, whose nutrients give the seeds a healthy start. The seeds will stay in a small greenhouse for about a month until they germinate and begin to grow. Then we will transplant them into larger pots and plant them in a special area in our garden classroom specifically for children.

▲Tending to your own little garden

Gardening