Children's Gardening Activities

Preschool

• Gardens are places to play and have adventures at ages 3 to 5. They provide flowers (and weeds) for bouquets for mom or dad, they have interesting bugs and fuzzy seed heads. Shrubs can become forts and trees can be climbed. They will gather leaves eagerly and learn which is which. Their small hands can dig holes and drop in seeds, and it won't matter that the rows aren't straight.

Elementrary Age

• Kids of 6 and 7 can read seed catalogues and choose which plants they want to grow, calculate the cost and save up to pay for them. They can read seed packets and plant according to directions. They can make plant labels, but gardens are still just a jumble of plants and flowers to them. They will watch carefully to learn how to cut the flowers for their bouquets, put them in water and care for them to make them last longer.

Middle School

• When young gardeners reach age 8 and 9, making a scarecrow can be exciting. They can design a new garden using graph paper. Research into flower heights, spacing needs, colors, tomato staking and blooming times will determine where plants are placed. They also can use tools to make their own trellis, fence or box planter. They can enter their plants in local fairs or community flower shows.

  Gardeners of 10 and 11 can use their skills to plan and develop a bed of flowers at the local community center or nursing home. A vegetable garden could become a business: selling fresh organic fruits to neighbors is good for the child and the customer. A great activity to share their skills is to use their knowledge to engage smaller children in gardening activities in community programs or as a baby sitter.

High School

• Activities inspired and led by scout leaders, teachers, community gardeners or parents can continue to challenge even teenagers. Budding botanists can specialize in designing a landscape or growing prize-winning roses or brilliant red tomatoes using their own compost. Nurtured from preschool age, they could make gardening into a career or passionate hobby.