5 SUPER FUN GARDENING ACTIVITIES FOR CHILDREN

Gardening is fun, rewarding and it creates a sense of accomplishment in the children. The children will feel accomplished when the plants grow to maturity under their care. Furthermore, being involved in gardening activities enables the children to learn about nature, recycling and also it instills a sense of responsibility in them. So instead of just swimming and lazing around in summer and spring, encourage your little ones to take up gardening and see their hard work pay off. This article will highlight five super fun gardening activities for children.

Have a Potato Farm

You can encourage the children to plant potatoes in their small garden at the backyard or even in containers. A good salad or a meal is not complete without fresh baby potatoes. And am very sure your kids love chips, right? Well, you can have homemade chips for everyone! Potatoes are easy to grow and don't need lots of care and attention. All you need is a vegetable patch or even a large container. You can even recycle that baby bath or sink that you are not using anymore. Before planting the potatoes, make sure you go fairly deep and also have drainage holes in the bottom if you are using containers, to get rid of excess water that can rot the plants.

Create Herb Garden

Growing herbs is fun and easy. It requires low maintenance and a little patience as herbs grow fairly fast and are the most versatile plants. Some herbs like cress and rocket start to sprout in as little as two days! I am sure your children will be thrilled by this. They will love harvesting the herbs and bring them to the kitchen to be included in their meals. Please note that herbs need plenty of sunlight and good quality soil. So make sure you choose a sunny spot and quality soil for your project. One of the herbs, mints, is a favorite of many. This is because it grows very fast, spreads evenly and it tastes yummy and smells good. You can add it in drinks or even use its cuttings as air fresheners in bedrooms and bathrooms. You can even plant herbs indoors, but facing the windows.

Plant Green Vegetable Garden

Greens are the easiest crops to plant as they can grow both indoors and outdoors. All you need to get started is a sunny spot, seeds, pots, and soil. In order to enrich the soil, you can use organic materials like compost, shredded leaves, and even animal manure. You can grow greens such as lettuce, kale, mustard and even spinach, which are great for salad. Growing greens not only provides fresh, nutritious vegetables, but also can be an educative venture as the children learn more about the different types of vegetables and their nutritional value. The upside of this is that your children will get to eat vegetables well without a fight, as they had grown them.

Build a Maze

Children love to play in a maze as it brings a sense of mystery and is also fun. You can capitalize on this by helping them build a maze using sunflower plant. Sunflower is beautiful and is tall enough for this fun activity, but you can also use corn plant or wildflower. Sunflowers have cheerful blooms and they come in different sizes. They also come in a varied range of colors like white, yellow, orange and even red. You can engage your children in designing the maze, selecting the maze location and in planting the sunflower. The plant needs plenty of sunlight to thrive, so make sure you select a sunny spot with well-drained soil. Sunflower seeds are a birds' favorite and its kernels are used to make oil.

Create a Worm Farm

Most children love to play with worms and getting their hands dirty; therefore, they will be thrilled to have their own worm farm. Worms create tunnels through the earth and this helps the plants to get access to water and nutrients. Furthermore, these slimy creatures convert wastes into compost, hence enriching the soil. Therefore, having them around is not a bad idea at all. Having a worm farm will create an avenue for the children to learn more about them and also can help convert your kitchen waste into compost manure for your vegetable garden.

In conclusion, these are just but few gardening activities for children. Ignite that idea in them, let them learn to grow their own food and have fun while on it.