Getting your children involved with gardening will not only give you an extra set of hands, it will give them an excellent learning experience, too. The key is getting them engaged with gardening.
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Below are some great tips to do just that.
To really keep your children’s attention, you must make gardening fun. If it feels like a chore, or you are too serious about their efforts, then your children will begin rebelling against any future gardening opportunities. Find ways to make gardening into a game, or even, simply, tell each other jokes while you are gardening to keep the experience light and engaging.
Be careful not to push your children too hard. This, again, makes gardening less fun for children, but it can also lead to very sloppy efforts on your children’s part. If you need to redo all of your children’s gardening, then you are adding hours to your already very busy schedule. Go loaded with reasonable goals for your children that will not cause them to do poor work.
Get the entire family and close friends into the gardening adventure. The more people involved with your gardening day, the more exciting it will be for your children. Invite over grandma and grandpa and offer family friends the opportunity to join in. Even get family pets into the action by bringing them outside. The more interaction you offer, the more engaging the experience will be for your children.
Put your children in clothes appropriate for gardening. Gardening, as you know, can be very messy. If your children are in clothes they really love, then messing them up can be very detrimental to their overall experience. Plus, you’ll then be stuck getting stains out of clothes, which no one likes to do. Before you begin gardening choose a set of gardening clothes for each child. Make the set sturdy, but also special. This way, your children will feel like they are dressing up to play the part of gardener. This type of play can get them excited about the opportunity and keep them engaged throughout!
Give your children the opportunity to choose their own plants from the store. This will give your children the sense that they are a very important part of the gardening experience. You could even go so far as giving them a special section of the garden that is theirs to do with as they feel like. This can really tap into your children’s imagination, as well as foster a sense of dedication as they will need to look after that section on a daily basis.
Make sure you use plants that are unique, flowery and colorful. Children love colors and unique shapes. You can really engage them with your garden by providing visually engaging plants as part of your garden plan. Do your homework prior to buying a ton of plants of this nature. Many of the most colorful plants out there are annuals, which will only last you one season.
As you can see, there are a lot of great ways to engage your children with your gardening project. Begin with these tips and experiment with other ideas as you garden with your children more and more. You may find new ways to engage them not mentioned here!
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