Are you tired of your kids glued to the television or gaming consoles? Do you want to encourage your kids to spend more time outside? Many moms I talk to feel the same way. But it can be hard to engage your kids when they are so used to sitting still and being entertained.
That’s why I’m here to share a secret with you – gardening activities for kids! Gardening is a great way to get your kids outside, get them involved in nature, explore their creativity and imagination, and teach them about science, ecology, and much more.
Even if you don’t have a garden, there are plenty of fun gardening activities for kids that can be done in your own backyard or even on the balcony of an apartment! Here are some of my favorite ideas of gardening activities for kids!
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10 Gardening Activities For Kids – That They Will Love!
1. Build A Bug Hotel
Do your kids love bugs?
Even if they don’t, it’s still good for your kids to learn more about how bugs help our ecosystem. After all, they help with essential things like pollination, breaking down organic material, and even pest control.
To help teach your kids more about the importance of bugs in our world and do a fun garden activity at the same time, consider building a bug hotel. This easy DIY project is fun to make and provides shelter and safety for these bugs.
To make one, all you need are:
- a container – you can use an old one you have lying around, or you can build one with some wood;
- organic materials such as twigs, leaves, stones, moss, bark, etc.;
- soil, so the bugs have something to eat and dig into.
Get your kids to fill the container with all the collected organic material and the soil. Be sure to leave plenty of space between each item, as bugs love to hide and crawl through the crevices.
Once finished, hang it up in a safe place where bugs can come and go as they please! Encourage your kids to watch for new guests that stop by their bug hotel.
2. Make Garden Markers
Every garden needs markers to tell one plant from another quickly. Let your kids get creative by making their own DIY garden markers!
There are plenty of ways you can make DIY garden markers. But the most popular option is using popsicle sticks or wooden spoons. Your kids can paint each one their favorite colors, add stickers, and the names of each plant onto the popsicle stick.
A great alternative to popsicle sticks is using rocks. Find ones outside that are big enough, then set your kids up to paint and decorate them however they like. Then, your kids can place each rock next to the plant.
3. Make A Mini Garden
If you’re like me and have an independent kid that likes to do everything themselves, you might find they don’t want to help you in your garden; they want one of their own!
No problem! You can set them up with a little mini vegetable garden!
If you have a large enough garden bed, consider setting aside a small portion for your kids. Let them pick some of the plants they would like to plant and help them dig up the soil and plant the seeds.
No worries if you don’t have a garden or a small garden with no additional room! You can get creative and create a mini garden inside old pots, plastic containers, egg cartons, tin cans, glass jars, or even toilet paper rolls. All they need to do is fill up the chosen container with soil, plant their seeds, and give it enough light, water, and love!
Your kids might also enjoy using this paper pot craft kit! They can decorate them however they like and then plant their own plants to grow.
4. Bury A Time Capsule In The Garden
Speaking of giving love to your garden, why not bury a time capsule with your kids? This fun activity will encourage your kids to think about what other people might be excited to find when they uncover this treasure in your garden one day!
Some ideas of things your kids can put inside include:
- letters
- photographs
- artwork
- school projects
- a toy
Your kids will need a container to put the items in. Ideas of what you can use include a shoe box (with a plastic ziplock holding the items), plastic container, glass jar, etc. Then, let your kids fill it up with whatever they want and bury it in your garden.
There are also time capsule kits that you can buy for your kids to use, like this one!
If you’re making the time capsule for someone else to find one day, you could take this a step further with your kids by creating a map they can use to find the hidden treasure. Then, hide the map somewhere in the house for someone else to discover in the future. Your kids will absolutely love doing this!
5. Garden Scavenger Hunt
One of the best gardening activities for kids is to create a garden scavenger hunt for your kids. There is so much nature right in our own backyards for your kids to enjoy, but they may not notice it. Setting up a scavenger hunt can help them slow down and see all the beautiful things around them.
When setting up your scavenger hunt, you can restrict it to the things you would find in a garden, such as a worm, a butterfly, a type of plant or flower, and so on. But you can also expand the scavenger hunt to other areas of your yard.
If you’re short on time, you can find many cute backyard scavenger hunts printables online. Here is one that I like from Kate at craftsonsea.co.uk. (There is a garden version and a backyard version. And they are both completely free!)
6. Make A Rock Garden
Consider adding bright colors to your yard by setting up a colorful rock garden with your kids. This is one of those fun garden activities that will encourage your kids to get crafty and creative.
Start by collecting some different rocks. And make sure there is a good mixture of sizes and shapes. This will add variety to the look of the rock garden and encourage your kids to be creative in different ways with each rock.
Then, get the different things your kids need to decorate their rocks, such as paints, markers, stickers, etc. I like to use acrylic paints because the paint will adhere to the rock better and won’t wash away when it rains!
Once all the rocks are decorated and dry, your kids can set them up in the garden. You will all enjoy this splash of color whenever you’re working in your garden.
7. Make A Magical Fairy Garden
It’s no secret that young children love to imagine and make believe! Honestly, I wish my imagination was as good as my kids. One thing that they might like to imagine visiting their garden is fairies. So, why not set up a fairy garden with your kids where the fairies can come to sleep and stay safe?
If you’re looking for fun ideas on how to do this, you can’t go wrong looking on Pinterest. You will find a lot of great ideas and inspiration there. Or our neighbors like to buy Fairy Garden pieces on Amazon!
But you can also keep it simple, which will be just as much fun!
For the little fairies’ houses, you could get some garden pots or a birdhouse from your dollar store, paints, and other ways to decorate their houses. (If you go with garden pots, flip them upside down, paint on a door and some windows, and you’ve got a charming home for the fairies to live in.)
For other decorations in the fairy garden, your kids could add beads or marbles, little flowers, painted rocks, or whatever else they want to leave for the fairies!
8. Set Up A Bird House or Bird Feeder
When brainstorming outdoor activities for your kids, thinking of ideas that help nature is always a good idea! Birds are another essential part of our ecosystem, and your kids will love making a little birdhouse for your neighborhood birds.
You can make your own DIY bird feeders easily. Some people will use a pinecone, like this one, while others might use plastic bottles, like this one. For even more ideas of DIY bird feeders, you can make with your kids, check out this list!
Stores like Target, Amazon or Hobby Lobby also sell little wooden bird feeders or houses your kids can paint themselves.
Of course, you’ll also want some food for the birds! You can use peanut butter, bird seed, stale bread, and nuts to feed the birds in your backyard.
9. Regrow Vegetables From Scraps
You can recycle your food scraps in many ways, such as having a composting bin, but did you know you can also regrow certain vegetables from scraps?
For example, you can regrow onions using their root end. All you need to do is put them in a pot with water with some sunlight. In no time, you will have fresh onions to eat!
You can regrow celery, garlic, and potatoes similarly. This is a great gardening activity for kids because they can witness the process of regrowth with their own eyes.
10. Wishing Tree
Your kids will love this last gardening activity; planting a wishing tree! What’s great about this activity is the tree can become a lasting memory for your entire family.
The first thing you will need to do is pick out a tree you want to plant. You can let your kids choose if you like, but I recommend researching what kinds of trees would grow best in your region. If you want more help with this, consider a trip to the garden center with your kids to ask the professionals. They will be able to help you and your kids pick out the best option. Plus, your kids will love going to the garden center, which might excite them more about this project!
Once the tree is set up and planted in your yard, it’s time to decorate with wishes! You can have your kids write down their wishes on paper and hang them on the tree branches, or you could use colored ribbon to tie them to the tree.
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Encouraging Your Kids To Spend More Time Outside
I hope you found a couple of gardening activities for kids that stood out to you for how you can encourage your kids to spend more time outside!
The more time your kids are outside, the more they can use their creativity and imagination to learn about the world around them. Plus, gardening is an excellent way for your kids to start understanding their role in caring for nature – something that will stay with them for years.
This will also help with those of you working to complete the 1000 Hours Outside challenge!
Have fun and enjoy yourself, too, as you nurture your children’s love for gardening and the outdoors!
Read Next:
Learn How To Save On Groceries With DIY Vegetable Gardening
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