Ten Tips on Gardening With Kids

Gardening is my newest favorite hobby. It has been so much. Besides pregnancy and children, gardening has been the most tangible way to see God. It has also been a wonderful experience to teach our kids about many things. Colors, shapes, bugs, beauty, seeds, food….the list goes on and on. The pictures in the post, show you real-life with kids. Dirt and mess and laughing and messy hair. It’s been so much fun! If you want to garden (which I think everyone should grow at least 1 plant!), the best advice I have is to include your kids! You will not regret it, in the long run. There will plenty of moments that you do regret it but overall it’s really great.

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1. Little to no expectations // Probably a good thing to think about when first starting to garden, but especially with small kids. Don’t set the bar too high!
2. Time // Everything will take 2x longer with kids. Do the small things with them and then complete the bigger tasks while they are napping!
3. Explain everything // Set them and yourself up for success. Before doing anything, explain what you’re going to do.
4. Know that they WILL mess things up // You will have a random plant show up somewhere it’s no supposed to be. No, a bird didn’t plant that seed there…your kid did.
5. Tools // Give them their own set of tools. This gives them something fun to do and keeps their hands off of yours. It makes a great Easter basket gift also! Wheelbarrow :: Hand Tools :: Garden Tools
6. Give them their own specific daily tasks // Get them excited by giving them something to do each day. N’s in charge of spraying seedlings with a water bottle and helping pollinate flowers. He also finds dead leaves that need to be pruned.
7. Allow them to water & harvest // A water hose is endless hours of fun and it’s a great thing for kids to do! Give them a little basket and teach them when we can harvest things. Then allow them to do it.
8. Allow them to prep & eat // Luckily our littlest eats almost anything but the biggest…that’s another story. He has been more excited about eating things when he knows what they are made out of and where the come from. He used to pick out green onions but now he gets so excited to see them in food because he grew them!
9. Have fun // There will be days that you’re trying to do something and it doesn’t work out, especially when it comes to gardening. BUT when it comes to kids, it is also so fun and rewarding to watch them learn and be mesmerized by the creation.
10. Stain Remover // Kids will get dirty. In church clothes too. So buy a few extra bottles of stain remover.