Gardening At Your School By Linda Hlozansky
When Did Your Love of Gardening Begin? Many Gardeners will say…when I was a child. Mom, Dad, Grandma, or Grandpa shared their love of gardening with me.
GARDENING WILL UNPLUG THE CHILDREN!
I need some ideas….. Seed Race: Use a peat pot starter with several segments Add soil Put a different seed or two in each segment See which will come up first.
Choose Seeds that Germinate Quickly! Radish Pumpkin Zucchini Cucumber Carrot Peas Try Potatoes in early spring out in the garden.
Digging This is great fun, but our clay soil is really hard for young children to dig. Find a pot, raised bed, or old sand box (with a lot of holes in the bottom), and put in some good garden soil.
Children need child-sized tools
Look for Worms or Bugs!
Water! They will enjoy it! They learn to care for something.
Harvesting They may eat their vegetables if they grew them!
Add Color and Interest with Flowers
Write the Child’s Name in Flowers
Make a Rainbow with Flowers
Enter Something In the Fair
Ownership is essential. Say, “Your garden” or “Our Tomatoes”
Make the garden a place to play Welcome to Gnome Town.
Grow Places to Hide!
Make a Scarecrow Use the child’s old clothes and let him name it.
Make Stepping Stones
Make a ROCK Garden! With or Without Plants
Make a Mini-Garden in a Pot
Add Sand to the Garden!
Make Plant Markers
Make a Terrarium
Make Yard or Garden Art
Make Egg Heads!
Make Grass Caterpillars
Kitchen Gardening Grow an Avocado Plant Grow a Sweet Potato Vine Grow Herbs Grow Alfalfa Sprouts Grow an African Violet Grow a Pineapple Top Grow a Dish Garden You have done all of these things, but they haven’t
Grow A Salad in a Bowl or Colander
Berries Attract Kids Like Flowers Attract Bees
Make Tea With Your Mint
Collect Seeds for Gifts
Encourage Teens to Garden too! Give them an area of their own!
Make Fairy Houses
Birney Elementary Junior Master Gardeners Love Fairy Houses
Check Out A Couple Of Books
Nature Website
Gardening With Kids This is a print magazine and a website. Look at the website, and if you like it you might want a subscription.
Additional Websites! National Wildlife Federation The Great Sunflower Project Monarchs across Georgia Kids Gardening Young Gardeners Earth Easy tools,gloves&more
Book List Read a book about a garden topic and follow up with an activity. For instance: 1.Read the book Linnea’s Windowsill Garden by Christine Bjork. 2. Make a windowsill garden.
We Made A Book List For You Here are some books to buy or borrow from the Cobb County Public Library. The books with * are available from the public library.
Book List 1.Read Pumpkin, Pumpkin by Jeanne Titherington. 2. Plant pumpkin seeds.
Book List 1.Read Sam Plants a Sunflower by Kate Petty 2. Plant a Sunflower
Book List 1.Read The Empty Pot by Demi 2. Help the child plant flower seeds.
Book List 1.Read The Man Who Planted Trees by Jean Giono. (6 th grade - adult) 2. Plant a tree.
Avoid poisonous or thorny plants.
Relax and Enjoy The Goal is to enjoy the time together in the garden. No need for perfection!