Try These 4 Easy Gardening Activities With Your Kids, for a Sustainable Day Outside

Now that spring is in full swing, kids have no excuse for not being outside all day, everyday. Kids and adults alike – could really benefit from spending time outdoors, getting some much-needed fresh air. If you’re looking for new, fun, and exciting ways to encourage your kids to get outside, look no further than gardening. 

Not only is gardening one of the most rewarding outdoor projects there is, but it gets kids outdoors and teaches them about the importance of plants. Whether you work together to make a DIY garden out of food scraps with your kids or prep an outdoor vegetable garden together, there are a lot of rewarding lessons that gardening can offer. Oh, and let’s not forget: Gardening can be fun. Ready to turn your little one’s thumb green? Keep reading for 4 garden activities for kids.

You can make an upcycled garden out of any material – empty milk cartons, dried out eggshells, glass jars, a shoe… all you need is a container, potting soil, and seeds. Start by rinsing your container, and add rocks to the bottom, or poke a hole in the bottom using scissors for drainage. Add the potting soil, leaving about 1 inch until the top of the container. Spread your seeds, then cover the rest of the way with potting soil. Water the plant regularly, and keep it in bright indirect sunlight.

This DIY animal grasshead adapted from Mother Nature is like a chia pet sans the packaging. You'll need stockings, potting soil, a sewing machine, grass seeds, a felt marker and water. To start, draw your desired animal shape onto the stocking using the felt pen. Then, using a sewing machine, stitch around each side of the shape, but leave one end open. Cut the rest of the stocking away, and stuff with a mixture of 1:1 soil and grass seed. Sew the remaining part of the stocking, and soak in water.

Making a fairy house is one of the most creative garden activities for kids. You can make a garden fairy house out of scratch using moss, twigs, and branches, or you could download a fairy house template and fasten one together out of wood scraps. No matter how you decide to DIY your fairy house (you could also even upcycle it out of milk cartons) you’ll want to decorate with any crafting material you can find: biodegradable glitter, construction paper, felt, pinecones, etc.

A wormery houses a colony of worms, which should help teach your children about the importance of composting. To make a wormery, as per Rainy Day Mum, you will need a plastic water bottle, soil, compost, sand, scissors, and worms. Contain the worms plastic water bottle, cut off the top of the bottle, and pour in the soil, sand, and compost. Then, encourage your kids to keep a worm journal all about what they learn from observing the wormery.

Once you've made your way through these outdoor gardening crafts, check out paper towel crafts, recycling crafts, and crafts for mom. Your kids are bound to have a blast.