How to Teach Gardening Skills to Your Kids

February 05, 2018 The Provident Princess 0 Comments

• Enjoying the last of our garden carrots

• Oh, the family garden.
• Or what was supposed to be the family garden, that everyone was supposed to help out with. But somehow turned into a solo project for you.
• So how do you dig yourself out of this project?
• Here are a few tips to re-engage your kids or begin teaching your children how to garden. And love it.

• Focus on Fast Growing Plants

• Your children probably don't have enought patience to wait the whole growing season to reap the rewards of say, a big pumpkin. They will need a little instant gratification. Or as instant as it gets when it comes to gardening.
• It doesn't matter what it is you plant at first. Your children will just be thrilled to see the first leaves and stems sprout from the seeds they planted.
• Lettuce grows very fast and continues to grow until it gets too hot. Other fast growing plants are: spinach, radishes and zuchini.

• Plant Things They Like

• Once your children have seen the fruits or their labor begin, they will work hard to be able to sample them. Grow food that your family likes. Great ideas are sugar peas, strawberries, tomatoes and carrots.
• Gardening is so much more fun when the results are tasty.

• Give Children Ownership of a Specific Area

• You can instill a sense of pride in your children if they have ownership of a certain area. It is also easier for them to keep up on the maintenance of the garden if they know exactly what they need to do.

• Give Your Children Their Own Tools

• One of the things that seemed to make the biggest difference in my children's attitude and willingness to work in the garden is when they had their own tools. I bought them garden gloves, a trowel shovel and a weeding tool. The first pair of gloves I bought were just cheap cloth ones I found at the grocery store. They weren't great, they slipped a lot and were hard to maneuver around tiny weeds so I would recommend something like these that have microfoam on the outside. Not only do they grip much better, they also keep out water which the cloth ones did not. Leather ones would also be really durable and water resistant too. Both of these options are only a dollar or two more than the cheaply made ones I first got but will last and work so much better.

• Work Along Side Your Kids

• Work is always more enjoyable if you are doing it with someone else. Children will be more willing to work if they have the company of their parents and siblings.
• This is also a great time to have meaningful conversations with your children. Kids will talk more about things that are bothering them when they have something else to focus on.

• Keep it fun and non-stressful

• Don't get too ambitious. Start small. Everyone will get burned out and resist gardening if the area is too overwhelming. You can always add more space the next year if you find that your family handled this year well.