We hope that the recent Chelsea Flower Show has given you all some inspiration of what you can achieve in your garden. Whether it be a big makeover or planting up a small pot of seeds, spending time in your garden can have many benefits including physical, mental and social well-being. Gardening with your children can be even more fun and encourages you all to spend quality time together.
Get closer to nature
Children love to get hands-on and dirty! Letting them dig, water and handle delicate seedlings, improves fine and gross motor skills, keeps them active and encourages sensory development. Plus they get the satisfaction of helping to grow their own plants and watching them flourish!
Photo credit: https://www.pbs.org/parents/thrive/gardening-with-kids-how-it-affects-your-childs-brain-body-and-soul
National Children’s Gardening Week
It’s National Children's Gardening Week from 25 May to 2 June 🌻🌷🌼
The aim is to inspire children’s curiosity, through a range of activities outside, and share your love of gardening with your children.
More information can be found here https://hta.org.uk/national-childrens-gardening-week
Blooming Lovely
When planting flowers with young children, consider plants that are easy to grow, require minimal care and germinate quickly so they can see the results! Sunflowers, poppies, cornflowers and pot marigolds are all ideal starter plants for kids. Bees and butterflies love them too! 🐝🐝🦋
There’s an episode for that…
Have your seen our episode “Blooming Lovely” on our YouTube channel – it’s hilarious!
Join Rosie and Raggles at the annual flower show and witness the chaos unfold! From colourful gardens to hilarious mishaps, this episode has it all...
Click on the link to find out what happens and don't forget to SUBSCRIBE to our OFFICIAL YOUTUBE CHANNEL for more exciting episodes from @EverythingsRosie
Explore Germination with kids
Growing Healthy Kids has some great resources including FREE downloadable guides for gardening with kids https://growinghealthykids.co.uk/gardening-with-kids/
Learn how to get them away from screens and enjoy growing vegetables, fruit and flowers.
Photo credit: https://science4fun.info/seed-germination/
Appeal to your child’s curiosity and encourage them to watch how seedlings germinate day by day and turn into wonderful plants. They will learn so much about lifecycles and how roots grow.
Try this seed activity with your kids
All you need is:
a clean glass jar
paper towels
seeds (broad beans, peas, pumpkin or even flower seeds like Calendula or Nasturtiums are all good)
Photo credit: https://growinghealthykids.co.uk/germination/
Push scrunched up paper towels into the jar
Add enough water to soak the paper but not leave a puddle at the bottom
Top up with more paper towels so the jar is crammed full
Push your seeds or beans down the side of the glass jar and support them with the wet paper towel
Get your kids to keep an eye out over the next few days and note the changes they see!
The root will grow first, then the leaves 🌿
This is a great activity for helping kids understand what goes on under the soil
Let’s go on a Bug Hunt 🐞🐛🕷️
In addition to planting and learning how to grow flowers, why not go on a nature walk with your child and encourage them to collect items of interest such as fallen leaves, rocks, flowers etc and spot insects and bugs along the way.
Create a simple check list that they can tick off as they find objects, encouraging observational skills and keeping kids entertained for hours! Why not bring your nature-inspired finds home and create a scrapbook or pressed flowers.
There’s an episode for that…
Have your seen our episode “Mini Beast Safari” on our YouTube channel -
Come with us on a SURPRISE BUG HUNT and learn all about creepy crawly insects in this full episode cartoon for preschool kids…
Click on the link to find out what happens and don't forget to SUBSCRIBE to our OFFICIAL YOUTUBE CHANNEL for more exciting episodes from @EverythingsRosie
We hope these simple but fun activities will give you some inspiration when keeping your children entertained outside.
Gardening brings a whole host of learning opportunities around the core curriculum subjects of science, maths and literacy.
Whether it be a big garden, small plot or window box, enabling your children to grow their own fruit and flowers can be hugely rewarding, improves mood and enhances self-esteem.
So what are you waiting for… get outside and HAVE FUN!!