Gardening with Kids
There are various ways that I love to keep children engaged with the beauty of nature. Gardening with kids can be so exciting. Having kids take responsibility in the classroom can start with smaller steps such as watering the plants. However, once they become more reliable on these smaller tasks they can go on to the more exciting parts of gardening.
In this blog post, I will add various nature-related activities for children to experiment with in the classroom setting. I would like to first start off with simpler activities and gradually to the more hands-on ones.
Planting seeds
Starting off with the basics you can start with planting seeds. There are many benefits of planting with young children. “Many plants can also help with improving mental health” as stated in “Planting seeds in the classroom blog”.
Lima beans
Carrying on to the next activity is growing lima beans. The children who have acquired the ability to plant seeds are able to now observe “how a seed germinates, takes root, and starts to grow” as stated in “Growing Lima Beans Blog”.
Garden in the classroom
Children can build from here and create their own gardens. The importance of this is for the kids to get accustomed to the life cycle of a plant and “understand better why it is so beneficial for a plant to grow many seeds instead of just one. If our single bean can grow up into a plant that produces hundreds of seeds” as stated in “Preschool gardening blog”. This would allow the students to view the wonders that one plant can expand into a garden.
Color-changing flowers!
The last activity to demonstrate in the classroom is a fun one! This one consists of color-changing flowers. To begin, ask the kids what their favorite color is. The white carnations that are used to see the petals change. Also, make sure to add water to the cup that the carnation is in and “about 10-15 drops of food coloring in the water and stir around a bit” as stated in “Color Changing Flowers Science Experiment Blog”. Make sure to check in on the flowers every couple of hours as the color changes to the children’s desired color.
Where can I get some more ideas?
As a teacher, I always am excited to learn more. Here is a great book I use often for ideas! Check out this book for preschool lesson plan ideas.
This blog was created by Elva Melgarejo who is a current Child Development Associate (CDA) student with CDAClass.org. Elva works with children at BWY Preschool and Daycare in Queens, New York as an assistant teacher. She hopes to continue her certifications to become an assistant teacher in a public school. Additionally, she enjoys spending time with her three children and reading books.
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