1. Give them their own corner in the garden.

Provide a corner in the garden where your (grand) children can grow their own vegetables! Planting herbs, growing strawberries, planting flowers, digging wells, baking mud cakes, searching for treasures and observing creepy crawlies are just some more things they can do in their own little garden space.

Just be sure to make it clear where their garden begins and where it ends. Mark off their piece of garden with sticks or stones which they can collect during walks or while playing outside for example.

Looking for another DIY project? Making a sign with their name on it is a great way to mark off their space in the garden.

2. Let them grow their own vegetables.

In their own garden! It’s not a secret that many children don't like to eat vegetables. We think this could be a solution: let the kids grow vegetables themselves and let them help you cook them! When their zucchini plant produces fruit, we’re pretty sure they will be the first to want to taste it.

Another possibility is to sell a portion of the harvested vegetables to the neighbourhood, teaching them the value of money at the same time.

3. Paint cheerful memory stones.

How do you remember what you grew where? Painted memory stones can help you and the little ones remember! Choose flat, smooth stones and paint them with cheerful fruit and vegetable faces for example. This will make their vegetable garden even cozier. And, it’s yet another fun DIY project.

4. Grow a sunflower, or two.

Only plant one or two as they take up a lot of space. Sunflowers will germinate in one week, become a small seedling in two weeks, and reach 2cm in size in a month.

All you need is some free space in your garden or a large pot and add potting soil, sunflower seeds and possibly some compost. In eight weeks, the buds bloom and reveal hundreds of seed cores. They dry by themselves in the late summer sun; the seeds, rich in protein and iron, can be roasted for snacks, YUM!

Tip: save a few for next summer's planting.

Want to make it extra fun? Keep a "plant diary" in which you can write down the length of plants every week!

5. Plant Bloomaker Amaryllis(es)!

If it is too cold outside to be busy with your vegetable garden, Amaryllises are perfect for indoor growing. The Amaryllis is so easy to grow and requires little maintenance!

We have been approached by E. Cason, fourth grade teacher at Stuarts Draft Elementary School who asked if we had some educational material that she could use for her class. She has inspired us to create a web page for children. A page with step by step instructions on how to plant an amaryllis together with downloadable freebies!

There is a downloadable version of the guide, (word) puzzles and a coloring page.

Check It Out!