Special Help in the Garden

Now that winter is finally deciding to leave (at leave in most places), it's time to start gardening. Whether you've already done your planting or not, there are multiple ways to get your young kids involved in the process, whether you're gardening with flowers or vegetables. I know A (22 months) is already glad to help out with the weeding and digging in the dirt!

If you're planting vegetables from seed packets, show your child the image on the seed packet and have him tell you what it is. If he's not yet talking (or at least not enough to get out vegetable names), lay out the packets and have him point to whatever veggie you say. For instance, you could say, "Let's plant the carrot seeds. Where's the carrot?" Then show him how to dig the hole and plant the seeds. Plus, you can have him help dig, pat the dirt down, or sprinkle with water from a watering can.

You child can also draw place markers for the plants. If she's a little older, she can draw the actual vegetables in an index card that you then put onto a craft stick to put into the ground. Otherwise, you could print out black and white drawings of each and have your little one color them.

Once your garden has developed, have your child help pick the vegetables, telling him what it is as you go and even counting them. You can also tell him the color or have him name it (same would work for flowers that have bloomed). Remind him these came from those tiny seeds you planted.

Not only will they have fun with all of this interaction, it will make them more likely to try eating the foods!