KidsGardening is here to support our community of families and educators. As you are figuring out educating or entertaining your children in these coming weeks, we want to be a resource for you. We are sharing some of our favorite garden- and nature-based activities and lesson plans on our social media channels. We are focusing on ideas that don't require many materials, and oftentimes with things that you already have on hand. (Although everyone's craft cupboard and garden shed are different.) Here's a few things we've shared, and a few others that we will further down the line. On social media (particularly on Facebook and Instagram), we'll be sharing ways to adapt and/or simplify the activities to meet your needs.
- Create a Seed Viewer: This is a simple planting project that allows you to observe how the roots of a plant form. Beans tend to work best, but you could also try using peas—in fact, it might be neat to try out both and compare how the two varieties grow.
- Make Seed Balls: Seeds balls are fun, hands on, and... messy, but that’s partly why they’re fun to make! I’d recommend using small wildflower seeds for this project, and if they’re native varieties even better. Once you’ve made your seed balls, let them air dry, then store them in a safe place until you’re ready to plant them in the spring.
- Attempt a Seed Dissection: Seeds are often so small, it can be hard to imagine what they look like inside. Learn how to dissect a soaked lima bean and identify various seed parts with this in-depth activity.
- Try your hand at Kitchen Scrap Gardening: Growing a new plant from an old one is remarkably simple. From carrots to pineapples to avocados, it’s easy to set up a system that allows these foods to regrown. You can choose a short term growing experiment (ex: regrowing greens) or a something that may last many years (germinating a seed from an old orange and nurturing it as it develops into a citrus tree over time).
Our website has many more activities, lesson plans, garden basics, and growing guides. We’d love to hear about the projects you’re tackling, and how we can be helpful when it comes to garden projects with your kids.
