How to Garden With Children

You'd like to have a nice garden AND not have it trampled by the rugrats. Children and dirt are a great combination! With a little planning and patience, you will find that gardening can be a fun and educational collaboration between you and your children.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Patience
• A piece of earth to work (size doesn't matter)
• Garden tools
• Seeds or plants

1. Plan ahead. Decide what space you will designate for the garden and what you want to grow. Vegetables are an easy, fast thing to grow with kids. As you review your plan, look for opportunities to involve your children in your project. Children are naturally curious about what you're doing and eager to help. Involving children will help you connect with them and teach them to learn to respect the garden (and hopefully it won't get trampled).
2. Show the child(ren) your plan. Ask them for their opinion in what to grow (you can guide their choices by giving them limited options) and where to grow it. This is a learning opportunity--explain what each seed is and what it needs to grow (sunlight, water, fertile soil, etc.). Give them a sense of ownership with the garden. (See tips below for best veggies to grow with kids)
3. Kids + dirt = FUN Get growing! Prepare your intended garden area for planting (turn the earth either by rototilling or by hand) and get planting! Children want to help, so guide them as they dig holes for plants or seed. For very young children (age 1+), you can prepared everything ahead of time and just have them plop the seed in the hole and pat it down with dirt. This simple act can give a young child a tremendous sense of accomplishment. As children get older, they can help more. Let them use a ruler to measure how deep each seed or plant should be dug. This is a great way to teach simple measurement and math concepts.
4. Give children responsibility for watering (with supervision) and garden care. Kids and water are a great combination too, but you may need to "guide" them so that the plants get sufficient water--otherwise everything else BUT the plants in the yard may get watered.
5. Check your progress. For older children, measure plant growth and keep track of it on a chart. Or, if that's too much, just check your garden daily and discuss what the plants need. When it rains, comment on how the plants will be happy for the water. On a sunny day, how the plants will make the energy they need to grow. Come harvest time, the kids will be proud of their accomplishments (and you won't have torn your hair out from keeping the rugrats away!).

Tips & Warnings

• Some great things for kids to grow are lettuce, beans, cucumbers and squash. These are all fast growers and kids love to see the rapid progress from seed to veggie.
• Gardening with kids may have the added bonus of getting kids to eat more veggies! Kids love to pick their fresh produce off the vine/plant and eat it!
• If you're using any machinery, like a lawn mower, weed whacker or rototiller, have children stay far, far away! Flying debris travels a far distance, so make sure they are no where nearby.
• Beware of sharp planting instruments, like the hand held cultivator. Make sure they are out of young children's reach. If it's an older child, teach them to use the tool properly.