Garden Easy Reader Book for Kindergarten

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Gardening is such a fun topic to explore with young kids—especially in the spring when seeds are being planted and everything is starting to grow!

When my youngest was in kindergarten and learning to read, we were getting ready to plant our own garden. She was so excited about it that I decided to bring that excitement into her reading practice, too.

I created this printable Garden Easy Reader Book called I Like My Garden.

It’s a simple 8-page beginning reader that introduces kids to gardening while giving them some early reading practice at the same time.

Garden Easy Reader for Beginning Readers

The I Like My Garden book is designed for children in kindergarten and early elementary school who are beginning to read.

When I first made it, my kindergarten-aged daughter could read it with just a little help.

You can also read it aloud with preschoolers as part of a garden, plants, or spring theme.

The book is 8 pages long and prints with four book pages on each sheet. It’s in full color.

What Will Kids Learn About Gardening?

The story introduces some of the basic things involved in growing a garden.

Kids will read about things such as:

• Dirt
• Seeds
• Water
• Planting
• Growing a garden
• Fruits and vegetables

It’s a simple way to connect reading with science and nature study.

If you’re planting a real garden, read the book before heading outside to plant your seeds. Kids can then look for some of the same things they saw in the story.

Garden Vocabulary for Kids

Before reading the book, talk about some of the garden words your child will encounter.

If you’re working with a beginning reader, look at the pictures together and ask your child what they notice.

You can also talk about questions like:

• What does a seed need to grow?
• What could we plant in a garden?
• Which fruits or vegetables have you seen growing?
• What jobs do we need to do to take care of a garden?

Connecting new words with real experiences and pictures can help young readers understand what they’re reading instead of simply sounding out words.

Turn the Book Into a Garden Science Lesson

After reading I Like My Garden, take the learning outside!

Plant a seed together and observe what happens over the next few weeks.

Kids can:

• Plant seeds
• Water their plants
• Look for the first sprouts
• Measure plant growth
• Draw pictures of their plants
• Compare different plants
• Look for flowers, fruits, and vegetables
• Talk about what plants need to grow

You could even reread the book as your garden grows and compare what’s happening outside with what’s happening in the story.

Garden Reading and Writing Activities

You can extend the easy reader with a few simple literacy activities, too.

Ask kids to draw a picture and complete a sentence such as:

In my garden I would grow ______.

Or make a list together of garden words from the book.

Older beginning readers can write their own page for the story:

• I like my ______.
• I grow ______ in my garden.
• My garden needs ______.

You could even staple the new pages together to make a second little garden book.

Read a Garden Book Before Planting

One of my favorite ways to teach young children is to connect what they’re reading with something they’re actually doing.

Read I Like My Garden, then go outside and dig in the dirt, plant a seed, water it, and watch it grow.

Suddenly words like seed, soil, water, plant, and grow aren’t just words on a page. They’re part of something the child has experienced.

Get the Printable Garden Easy Reader Book

The printable Garden Easy Reader Book includes the 8-page full-color I Like My Garden story for young readers.

Use it for kindergarten reading practice, spring learning, plant science, garden units, or homeschool nature study.

GET THE GARDEN EASY READER BOOK

 

More Garden Activities for Kids

Keep your garden learning going with these activities:

Garden Measurements-This one is an especially natural next step—kids can measure their plants as they grow.

Garden Ten Frame Math Activity-Another excellent internal link you didn’t have when this post was originally written. It connects the garden theme with counting and early math.

Garden Spelling Mats- Also a very natural companion now, especially since the reader introduces garden vocabulary.

Clay Stamped Garden Markers- Make garden markers for the plants you’re growing.

Elephant Watering Can Garden Craft- Make a fun watering can to use with your garden theme.

Grow a Seed in a Bag & Plant Life Cycles: Simple Science for Kids