Are you planning to garden with your preschooler this summer? Gardening can seem like an activity that requires a lot of supplies. What supplies are actually necessary to have a fun time in the garden with your preschooler? Very few, actually.
We like to bring a small trowel into the garden. Preschoolers like to dig, and you can set your child to work digging up a garden bed, moving small rocks, and looking for worms. The worms, woodbugs and soil are the main attraction here.
Watering cans are also very popular. Choose a child-sized one with very small holes or you may discover that your enthusiastic child has drowned many of the plants in the freshly-planted bed. Find an area of the garden that you are happy to turn into a mud pit, and give your child free rein there.
While child-sized gardening aprons, large shovels, gloves, and other accoutrements are cute, they’re not necessary unless your child loves to dress up for the gardening occasion. However, a hat is a must, whether it’s for rain, snow, or sun. I find that boots and rain pants can be very helpful for spring gardening as well.
If you’re gardening in the spring, give your preschooler a few pea or bean seeds to grow. It’s thrilling to handle and plant the large seeds, and it’s even more thrilling when something grows!
I find that a small rake is quite fun for preschoolers to use in the fall, especially children who have just turned three and who love to imitate. Plus, you may possibly get a few more leaves raked than if you were doing the job on your own.
The other interesting gardening supply to bring along is a magnifying glass. Soil is cool, and little bits of quartz can look like diamonds to a preschooler. Gardens are also good hiding places, full of bugs and mystery. Hand your child a magnifying glass and have her go off into the garden to see what she can find.
Do you garden with your child? What are your essential child-style gardening tools?