National Children's Gardening Week 2022
We love seeing children outside exploring and playing in nature, so for 28th May - 5th June 2022, we're celebrating National Children's Gardening Week. With the weather being warmer and sunnier, it is the ideal time for kids to plant seeds and watch their plants grow across the summer.
National Children's Gardening Week helps improve youngsters physical and mental well-being as they unplug from technology, get digging in the garden, and enjoy being in the great outdoors.
What Are The Benefits Of Being Outside?
The freedom of being outdoors can encourage children to exercise (developing good fitness, stamina and agility) as well as taking them away from busy schedules. It also gives them the freedom to make some noise, develop confidence and independence.
Gardening For Kids Ideas
1. Grow Your Own Fruit or Veg
Inspire children to get gardening by growing fruit, vegetables or herbs. Easy crops to grow include apples, strawberries, tomatoes, potatoes and salad leaves. If possible, dedicate a space in your garden for your child to have as their patch so they can oversee the whole process from sowing seeds to eating their delicious produce.
We have just the thing to help with growing fruit and vegetables. Our Kids Garden Caddy comes with child-sized gardening gloves, a ruler, a trowel, a fork, a rake and much more. The wooden kids' garden tools are safely stored in the decorated caddy.
2. Channel Creativity
Photo by Dragos Gontariu on Unsplash
Unleash the paint brushes to decorate plant pots and window boxes. Either spray the pots (when they're empty) with a spray paint can or hand paint with a pot of paint. Use marker pens or metallic crayons to draw on some unique designs and have that truly personal touch.
3. Grow Giant Plants
Photo by João Perini
There's only one clear winner for the most giant plant: the sunflower! Sunflowers are super easy to grow and can grow up to two metres tall. To get your sunflower reaching new heights, gardener Mary Hamblyn has some top tips on how to grow the perfect sunflower. Kids will find it fun to see how tall their sunflowers grow and how they can make them grow even bigger by regularly feeding and watering them.
4. Sensory Plants
Photo by Paula Corberan on Unsplash
Planting is a fun way to stimulate your little one's five senses. Bushes, soft flowers and rustling plants as well as bright colours and smells deliver a sensory experience for little gardeners. Sensory plants can be really good for children with special needs and sensory impairments.
5. Use Kids Gardening Sets
Packed with everything little gardeners need, our Small Tote Bag with Tools has a kid-sized watering can, spade, fork and gloves plus a handy tote bag to keep the mini tools all in one place. The small size of the gardening tools means that kids can hold and use them independently. Playing with children's gardening tools helps to develop children's physical movement and fine motor skills.
6. Make a Secret Den
Photo by Siora Photography on Unsplash
A fort or kids' den is easy-peasy to make in the garden. All you need is a big cardboard box and some poster paints to decorate it. Natural shades such as greens and browns are a great way to camouflage the den if your little one wants to bird watch or observe animals in the wild.
7. Create Wildlife Habitats
Photo by Meritt Thomas on Unsplash
Making wildlife habitats is a fun yet educational activity to do with kids in the garden. Children will enjoy observing the wildlife and exploring how to encourage different species to come to the habitat. Little gardeners can do things such as dig a pond, make a bird feeder, build an insect hotel, plant a bee border and much more.
8. Play With Garden Toys
If your mini gardener has grown weary from all the outdoor activities, get them re-enthused with different garden toys. Climb trees with a rope ladder for active play sessions, make special keepsakes with a flower press or have a competitive game of garden croquet.
What things are you planning to grow in your garden? Share your kids gardening efforts with us over on Instagram @BigjigsToys.