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You are here: Home / Local Love / Teaching Kids How To Garden

Teaching Kids How To Garden

June 5, 2019 By Kari Leave a Comment

How to set-up a garden for your kids, ways your little ones can help in your garden, cool tools, and the best gardening books for kids!

Isn’t it one of the greatest things to introduce your kids to something you’re passionate about? I LOVE to garden. Passing that on to our son Wyatt (as my dad did to me) is pretty special. I’ve been taking Wyatt around our gardens ever since he was in my tummy! There was no better feeling than feeling those kicks as I had my hands in the dirt. 🙂

This year, Wyatt joined us at Thiel’s Greenhouses to pick out a few things for his very first garden in our yard! Owner Nadine Steilow has a passion for teaching children about gardening and she went above and beyond to make sure Wyatt was all set up! Keeping reading for photos from our visit and a ton of tips from the Thiel’s team when it comes to introducing your little one to the garden.

How To Introduce Little Ones to Gardening

#1: Get them their own tools, including a hat and gloves. A few options:

  • Garant Six-Piece (pictured below)
  • Toysmith Set
  • Four-Piece Caterpillar
  • Unicorn Two-Piece
  • Garden Kit

#2: Give them their own space in the garden to tend but keep it close so you can work side by side.

#3: Let them pick which food and/or flowers to plant. Most kids want to grow pumpkins and watermelons because that is what they see in storybooks, cartoons, etc. Big seeds are boss—beans, pumpkins, peas, sunflowers, nasturtiums, sweet peas, zinnias.

#4: Let them dig in the dirt and find worms. Let them feel the different textures of the plants.

#5: Choose plants that produce blooms or food quickly so they don’t lose interest. Some suggestions of plants that grow quickly are strawberries, string runner beans or peas, edible portulaca, large marigolds (use a stick to measure growth), ferns (watch the fronds unfurl), and hens and chicks (a hardy succulent that can stand up to little hands).

#6: Make it FUN! FUN! FUN! Sing a song or play a game. It creates good memories. Don’t over-supervise so it isn’t fun anymore (i.e., if their rows aren’t straight, it’s okay).


#7: Let them enjoy the fruit of their labour. Eat the veggies and/or pick a bouquet. Get dirty. It’s fun!

Ways Kids Can Help in the Garden

Plant seeds: Kids enjoy digging in the dirt and they can create the holes for seeds.

Water: Kids love to play with water. Let them have fun watering but at the same time you can teach them which plants need more water (in the sun) and which need less (in the shade). If a water fight breaks out, enjoy! If you have more than one child, give them each their child-sized watering can. TIP: Fill a kiddy pool with water and let them dunk their watering cans in to fill rather than having to supervise the hose.

The Best Way to Set Up a Kid’s Garden

The consensus of the Thiel’s team is that it’s best to incorporate the kid’s garden into the bigger garden and let them garden beside you. If, however, you have limited space and are just setting up a kid’s garden, then a container garden would be the most convenient way.

Kids + Gardening Books

I consulted the team at Thiel’s and my mom (a grade school teacher) on the best books to teach kids about gardening and nature. Here they are!

  • The Perfect Place for Plants by local author Sharon Wallish Murphy: buy here or at Thiel’s Greenhouse
  • The Tiny Seed
  • Pooh’s Secret Garden
  • The Very Hungry Caterpillar
  • Diary of a Worm
  • Blueberries For Sale
  • Have You Seen Birds?
  • How Do Apples Grow?
  • Over In The Meadow
  • Up In The Garden and Down in The Dirt
  • Roots, Shoots, Buckets, and Boots!
  • Planting a Rainbow

Gardening Workshops For Kids

Thiel’s also opens its doors for workshops and birthday parties! Each gathering is customized to the group coming in. Little ones can learn all about plant care, bugs, pollinators, etc. Anything is possible! You could build fairy gardens, design potted plants, and more. Contact the Thiel’s team to set something up!

Pin this to your Kids + Gardening boards and don’t forget to follow me on Pinterest! 

 

Thank you to Theil’s Greenhouse for partnering with us! Thiel’s provided beautiful plants, flowers, vegetables and herbs for our garden in exchange for this post! As always, thoughts and opinions are mine.

Other Posts You’ll Like

Tips For Savvy New Gardners 

Refreshing Herb Garden Cocktails

How To Pull Off The Modern Farmhouse Trend

xx

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Filed Under: At Home, DIY Projects, Gardening + Outdoor Design, Local Love, Motherhood, Shop Local

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Lifestylist + Blogger: KariSkelton.com
Mom to Wyatt, Moses🐾 + Monroe🐾
Babe on the way! (06/22)
❤ @ryanjespersen
motherhood | style | recipes 👇

Kari Skelton | Motherhood
when you feel like you've hit your max bump but th when you feel like you've hit your max bump but there's still nine weeks to go. 😳

It's truly amazing what our bodies can do. 💛

#31weeks #sunsoutbumpsout #beachball
Life update. ❤ I’ll be keeping this piece of Life update. ❤

I’ll be keeping this piece of art forever. Wyatt painted this for me back in January, when I was isolated with Covid. I taped it up on the wall beside the bed during my stay in our guest room. If you zoom in, you’ll see me in the front with the big baby belly. (Wyatt calls me ‘big belly’ these days!)

Rainbows represent promise, hope, and new beginnings. 

It's been a rough past few weeks for our family, hence my absence online. Thank you so much for your messages of love, concern, and support. They mean so much to us. I know I share a lot with you on here, but I’m not going to get into details this time. Just know we're doing alright. Junebug is great (and kicking and rolling around non-stop!), Wyatt is awesome per usual, and Ryan and I are rock solid.

I had to take a break from work. My main focus has always been (and will
always be) protecting the peace, health, and well-being of our family unit. 

Social media can be a beautiful place where connection and inspiration happens. Unfortunately, it can also foster hurtful and harmful attacks. I’ve learned so much over these past few weeks, and have deeply reflected on my presence and future plans online. I’ll share more soon, but for now, I just wanted to check in, say a sincere thanks, and let you know we’re all good. ❤️
The moment I found out. September 22, 2021. I’ll The moment I found out. September 22, 2021. I’ll be honest - the first trimester wasn’t great. There were moments of joy (like this one) but it was filled with anxiety, scary moments, and a few hurdles. 

🤰I’m playing catchup on some pregnancy blog posts but I wanted to make sure this was up, especially for those who have been following our journey. 

👉 Head on over to KariSkelton.com for ‘Pregnancy Q&A: The First Trimester’ where I get into all of it. Link is in my bio.

❔️Please ask any questions. That’s the whole reason why I share about this. I believe sharing our experiences and personal stories helps all of us feel less alone and often validates what we’re going through. 

(If you can believe it, I took a video of the exact moment I found out but it disappeared from my files. Poof! Gone.💨 Of all the videos to lose…. 🙈 But very happy to have this photo).

#pregnancystories #motherhoodrising #motherhoodunites #Canadianblogger #Canadianmom
Contest Closed. Congrats to our winner @michelle_q Contest Closed. Congrats to our winner @michelle_quay! Thanks to all of you for entering! ❤

➡️ Giveaway! To celebrate @fresonbros first birthday tomorrow (Saturday, March 5), we’re giving away a $250 Freson Bros. GC! 🥳

You’re invited to pop down to the party between 11-5 to celebrate with us! 🎉There’s birthday torte, a whole bunch of perks, specialty tastings, and additional in-store giveaways, including a beautiful Camp Chef XT Wood Pellet Grill! 🙆‍♀️

To enter our $250 GC Giveaway:

👉 Make sure you follow me @kariskelton and @fresonbros.

👉 Like this post.

👉 tag some friends who would love this!

✨️ Bonus entry: Head to KariSkelton.com and leave a comment on my ‘Freson Bros. Turns One’ blog post (make sure to add your IG handle in that comment so we know who you are). 

*This giveaway is open to Canadian residents only and is in no way endorsed or supported by Instagram. The winner must be able to pick up the $250 gift card prize at Freson Bros. Edmonton 5139 Mullen Rd. Contest closes Friday, March 4 at 11:59 pm MST. The winner will be announced on this post before 9 a.m MST Saturday, March 5. 

🚨*PLEASE watch out for impersonation accounts that unfortunately sometimes pop up during giveaways. I will only reach out to you via DM from my account (@kariskelton) to confirm your win and then we’ll coordinate details via email only.
Load More… Follow on Instagram

kariskelton

Lifestylist + Blogger: KariSkelton.com
Mom to Wyatt, Moses🐾 + Monroe🐾
Babe on the way! (06/22)
❤ @ryanjespersen
motherhood | style | recipes 👇

Kari Skelton | Motherhood
when you feel like you've hit your max bump but th when you feel like you've hit your max bump but there's still nine weeks to go. 😳

It's truly amazing what our bodies can do. 💛

#31weeks #sunsoutbumpsout #beachball
Life update. ❤ I’ll be keeping this piece of Life update. ❤

I’ll be keeping this piece of art forever. Wyatt painted this for me back in January, when I was isolated with Covid. I taped it up on the wall beside the bed during my stay in our guest room. If you zoom in, you’ll see me in the front with the big baby belly. (Wyatt calls me ‘big belly’ these days!)

Rainbows represent promise, hope, and new beginnings. 

It's been a rough past few weeks for our family, hence my absence online. Thank you so much for your messages of love, concern, and support. They mean so much to us. I know I share a lot with you on here, but I’m not going to get into details this time. Just know we're doing alright. Junebug is great (and kicking and rolling around non-stop!), Wyatt is awesome per usual, and Ryan and I are rock solid.

I had to take a break from work. My main focus has always been (and will
always be) protecting the peace, health, and well-being of our family unit. 

Social media can be a beautiful place where connection and inspiration happens. Unfortunately, it can also foster hurtful and harmful attacks. I’ve learned so much over these past few weeks, and have deeply reflected on my presence and future plans online. I’ll share more soon, but for now, I just wanted to check in, say a sincere thanks, and let you know we’re all good. ❤️
The moment I found out. September 22, 2021. I’ll The moment I found out. September 22, 2021. I’ll be honest - the first trimester wasn’t great. There were moments of joy (like this one) but it was filled with anxiety, scary moments, and a few hurdles. 

🤰I’m playing catchup on some pregnancy blog posts but I wanted to make sure this was up, especially for those who have been following our journey. 

👉 Head on over to KariSkelton.com for ‘Pregnancy Q&A: The First Trimester’ where I get into all of it. Link is in my bio.

❔️Please ask any questions. That’s the whole reason why I share about this. I believe sharing our experiences and personal stories helps all of us feel less alone and often validates what we’re going through. 

(If you can believe it, I took a video of the exact moment I found out but it disappeared from my files. Poof! Gone.💨 Of all the videos to lose…. 🙈 But very happy to have this photo).

#pregnancystories #motherhoodrising #motherhoodunites #Canadianblogger #Canadianmom
Contest Closed. Congrats to our winner @michelle_q Contest Closed. Congrats to our winner @michelle_quay! Thanks to all of you for entering! ❤

➡️ Giveaway! To celebrate @fresonbros first birthday tomorrow (Saturday, March 5), we’re giving away a $250 Freson Bros. GC! 🥳

You’re invited to pop down to the party between 11-5 to celebrate with us! 🎉There’s birthday torte, a whole bunch of perks, specialty tastings, and additional in-store giveaways, including a beautiful Camp Chef XT Wood Pellet Grill! 🙆‍♀️

To enter our $250 GC Giveaway:

👉 Make sure you follow me @kariskelton and @fresonbros.

👉 Like this post.

👉 tag some friends who would love this!

✨️ Bonus entry: Head to KariSkelton.com and leave a comment on my ‘Freson Bros. Turns One’ blog post (make sure to add your IG handle in that comment so we know who you are). 

*This giveaway is open to Canadian residents only and is in no way endorsed or supported by Instagram. The winner must be able to pick up the $250 gift card prize at Freson Bros. Edmonton 5139 Mullen Rd. Contest closes Friday, March 4 at 11:59 pm MST. The winner will be announced on this post before 9 a.m MST Saturday, March 5. 

🚨*PLEASE watch out for impersonation accounts that unfortunately sometimes pop up during giveaways. I will only reach out to you via DM from my account (@kariskelton) to confirm your win and then we’ll coordinate details via email only.
Load More… Follow on Instagram

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