Gardening With Kids
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Looking for tips on gardening with kids? You’re in the right spot!
Spring is our favorite time of year. The kids and I get so excited to start planting our seeds and begin working in the garden. We love to start our plants indoors early and watch them grow. One fun way to keep kids engaged is to track plant growth each week—it’s part science experiment, part wonder-filled discovery.
Even when the weather is still snowy or chilly, we begin early planting inside. Our first outdoor crops include peas, lettuce, onions, and kale, which are all peeking through the soil now. Making the rounds through our garden to spot what’s sprouted has become a favorite spring ritual. There’s something magical about seeing a seed transform into something green and growing!
Why Gardening with Kids Is Educational
Gardening is an incredible way to blend science, responsibility, and life skills—all through fun, hands-on experiences. Kids learn:
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Plant life cycles and biology
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How to care for living things
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Measurement, tracking, and observation
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Healthy food habits and curiosity about nutrition
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Sensory engagement and patience
You can even extend gardening into math, art, and writing lessons!
9 Practical Tips for Gardening with Kids
1. Teach about seeds, plant parts, and life cycles.
Use real seeds and diagrams to teach basic plant biology. See my How to Plant Seeds with Kids post for ideas!
2. Let your kids choose what to plant.
Involving them from the beginning creates ownership. Bonus: they’re more likely to eat what they grow!
3. Let them help plant the seeds.
Teach how to read seed packets—planting depth, spacing, sun needs, and growing zones.
4. Give them their own patch of ground or a container garden.
Even a small space gives them responsibility and pride.
5. Let them help water and fertilize.
Assign watering duties and make it fun with their own watering cans. We even made an Elephant Watering Can!
6. Track plant growth together.
Measure weekly and record in a Garden Growth Chart. Add in observations or drawings for extra learning.
7. Get them their own kid-sized tools.
Colorful gloves and shovels make gardening feel special and accessible.
8. Teach kids to weed.
Learning how to pull weeds properly is a useful skill—and a great way to help out!
9. Let them harvest and enjoy the results.
Nothing beats that first bite of a homegrown tomato or berry. If you’re growing flowers, let them display a vase indoors.
Garden-Themed Books for Kids
Reading about seeds builds excitement and reinforces science. Here are our favorites:
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The Magic School Bus Plants Seeds by Joanna Cole
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Oh Say Can You Say Seed? by Bonnie Worth
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Once There Was a Seed by Judith Anderson and Mike Gordon
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Johnny Appleseed by Reeve Lindbergh
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Anno’s Magic Seeds by Mitsumasa Anno
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A Seed is Sleepy by Dianna Hutts Aston
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The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle
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Jack’s Garden by Henry Cole
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Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert
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How a Seed Grows by Helene Jordan
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From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons
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The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss
You can also pair this with Parts of a Plant Activity.
Gardening with kids is about more than vegetables—it’s about growing wonder, responsibility, and connection. Whether you’re working with a full backyard or a few pots on a balcony, the memories and lessons you grow together are lifelong.
Now go outside and get your hands dirty—spring is calling!
Thank you for linking to The Children’s Bookshelf! These look like great books! My son recently expressed an interest in gardening and how plants grow. I’ll have to check these out!
Great post! featuring tomorrow 🙂
xo
H
Thanks for linking up at Bee Crafty Kids! We have a big garden and it’s planting time, so we’ve been reading several of those books ourselves!
I love A Seed is Sleepy. Such great illustrations. Thanks for sharing at The Children’s Bookshelf
I love gardening! My girls are 2 and 10 months, so they’re a little young. But I think my two year old will enjoy looking and collecting the veggies. And the books are great! I’ll need to find some at our library. Pinning this!
I love gardening with my little ones! Thanks for sharing your book list and gardening ideas with us. I featured your post on my blog!
Please join us again today (yeah I know it’s a day late… linky issues) at Eco-Kids Tuesday!!
Thanks for joining in on the garden blog hop! Great tips and great books!
Great tips & I love your seed book recommendations. Thanks so much for sharing at Discover & Explore Gardening with Kids – we’re featuring your post today in our highlights from the linky!
You have written an excellent post Karyn. One of the exiting and meaningful way to spend time with kids is gardening with them. Doing so could improve their practical working skills and knowledge. I really appreciate the effort you took to put valuable resources such as books.
Hi, I’m a gardener and children’s author from New Zealand. I just want to say how much I enjoyed your blog and love what you are doing. Getting kids involved with gardening has got to be one of the most worthwhile things to do. Congratulations – keep it up!
Diana Noonan
garden4real@wordpress.com
Thank you for these wonderful tips! My girlie is three and she’s already so interested of the plants in our garden, of the seeds she finds here and there and what’s in the ground, that makes them grow. We have few books , but may be we should plant some seeds, so Ruby will be able to see the whole growing process. Your advices are so helpful.Greets!