Gardening with kids is a joyful, hands-on way to spark curiosity, teach science, and encourage healthy eating habits. Whether you’re planting a single pot on a balcony or creating a full backyard garden, there are endless opportunities to have fun while learning. In this post, you’ll discover gardening activities for kids that blend science, creativity, and delicious rewards. Plus, we’ll share free printables to help your little gardeners dig right in!
If you enjoy gardening with kids, be sure to check out our earlier post, Earth Day: Gardening with Children, for even more fun ideas!
Plant a Rainbow Garden
Planting a rainbow garden is a colorful and exciting project for children. Choose fruits and vegetables that represent each color of the rainbow—red tomatoes, orange carrots, yellow peppers, green lettuce, blue blueberries, and purple eggplants.
Activity Idea: Use our free Rainbow Garden worksheet to have children draw or write the name of a plant for each color. Challenge them to think of more options than just the examples provided!
Fun Science: How Plants Grow
Gardening is packed with natural science lessons. Talk about the life cycle of a plant—from seed to sprout to flower to fruit. Let kids track their plants’ growth with our free Garden Observation Sheets, perfect for ages 4-12.
Activity Idea: Start a “plant journal” where children record weather conditions, measure growth, and sketch what they observe each week.
Worm Watching: Nature’s Garden Helpers
Introduce kids to worms and the magic they do underground! Worms help aerate the soil and break down organic matter to create rich, fertile dirt.
Activity Idea: After a rainy day, go on a “worm walk” to find worms in the garden. Discuss their important role in helping plants grow.
Taste the Garden: Healthy Eating Fun
Kids are more likely to try new fruits and vegetables when they’ve grown them themselves! Create simple, healthy recipes using their harvest.
Snack Ideas:
- Rainbow Veggie Skewers: Thread colorful veggies onto skewers and serve with a tasty dip.
- Healthy Banana Splits: Use bananas, yogurt, and an assortment of fresh fruits like kiwi, pineapple, and apples.
- Apple Nachos: Thinly slice apples and top with nut butter, grapes, and mini chocolate chips.
- Cucumber Sandwich Bites: Use cucumber slices with cream cheese or hummus, topped with cherry tomatoes or peppers.
Activity Idea: Host a “garden picnic” where kids pick, prepare, and eat their homegrown snacks.
Story Time (affiliate links)
Container Gardening for Kids by Ellen Talmage
Reading Level: Ages 7 to 12 yrs old This book is bursting with creative and unique ideas for turning all kinds of containers into mini gardens—some you can even make yourself! From boots to buckets, it encourages kids to think outside the (plant) box.
Not only does it inspire creativity, it also teaches important plant care tips. Your young gardener will learn why it’s important to avoid overcrowding, how to divide plants into new containers, and—even cooler—how trimming the roots can actually help a plant stay healthy and stress-free. (Yes, I even learned something new too!)
This book is a great guide for kids who want to get their hands dirty and show off their green thumbs in fun, personal ways. Let the container garden adventures begin!
Errol’s Garden by Gillian Hibbs
Reading Level: Birth to 8 yrs old Errol’s Garden is a charming picture book that celebrates the love of gardening—even in unexpected places. Errol dreams of growing plants, but living in an apartment doesn’t offer many options. That is, until he discovers the rooftop! Follow along as Errol and his neighbors come together to create a beautiful rooftop garden, proving that community and creativity can help gardens grow anywhere.
Growing Vegetables by Tracy Nelson Mauer
Reading Level: Ages 7 to 12 I discovered this gem at my local library. It’s perfect for young gardeners! This book is packed with practical, age-appropriate information on how to plan, plant, and harvest your very own vegetable garden. It covers everything from choosing the right location and tools to understanding when to water, weed, and pick your produce. While I wasn’t able to find this book on Amazon at the time of writing, I highly recommend checking your local library or school collection. It’s a fantastic resource to pair with garden activities and outdoor science lessons!
Ready, Set, Grow! – Quick and Easy Gardening Projects by Deborah Lock (DK Books)
Reading Level: Ages 7 to 11 DK Books never disappoint—and Ready, Set, Grow! is no exception! This colorful, photo-packed gem is perfect for young gardeners who are ready to dig in. Before planting a single seed, kids will learn to think like a garden pro: How much space do you have? Is it sunny or shady? The book covers it all!
From clever ideas for quirky containers to super cute DIY garden decorations, this book makes gardening both practical and playful. Kids will also discover which insects are garden heroes (hello, ladybugs!) and which ones might cause trouble. There’s a garden full of information inside these pages—and it’s all presented in a way that’s fun, easy to understand, and sure to grow confidence.
Whether you have a backyard plot or just a sunny windowsill, this book will help your young gardener bloom!
Secrets of the Vegetable Garden (A Shine-A-Light Book) by Carron Brown & Giordano Poloni
Reading Level: Ages 2 to 8 Secrets of the Vegetable Garden is part of the delightful Shine-A-Light series, and it’s both magically entertaining and educational. I own this one along with Secrets of the Seashore, and my grandchildren absolutely love them!
In this interactive book, young readers are asked engaging questions like, “What three things does a seed need to grow?” and “What’s growing in the pods?” The fun twist? To reveal the hidden answers, you shine a flashlight behind the page in a dim room—it’s like discovering secret worlds hidden in the illustrations!
This book teaches real facts about gardening and the wildlife you might encounter, all through a hands-on, visually exciting experience. It’s a wonderful way to spark curiosity and learning through play.
Tiny Green Thumbs by C.Z. Guest
Reading Level: Ages 3 to 9 Tiny Green Thumbs is a sweet and educational story about a little bunny with a big dream—growing his own garden. With the loving guidance of his wise grandmother, Granny Bun, Tiny Bun learns all the steps it takes to grow something from the ground up. The book blends a heartwarming storyline with practical gardening tips, making it both entertaining and informative. Join Tiny Bun and Granny Bun as they dig, plant, and grow their way to a garden full of joy and learning!
Free Printables to Grow and Learn
Don’t forget to grab your free Garden Observation Sheets and Rainbow Garden Worksheet! These tools help make your garden adventure even more educational and fun.
Wrap-Up: Grow, Learn, and Laugh Together
Gardening with kids builds skills, sparks curiosity, and promotes healthy living. It’s a fun way to connect with nature—and each other! Whether you’re growing a few pots of herbs or a full backyard farm, these gardening activities for kids will plant seeds of wonder that last a lifetime.
Show Off Your Green Thumb in Style!
I’ve created two fun gardening-themed T-shirt designs that are perfect for kids, families, and anyone who loves to dig in the dirt! You can find them in my storefront, Mama Carmody’s Corner Store, available on TeePublic, TeeSpring, and RedBubble.
Each platform offers different items and runs unique sales, so be sure to check them all out for the best deals and product options!
Shop Now:
Look for my designs “I Dig Dirt – Little Gardener in Training” and “Grow Your Own Greatness – Roots, Rain and a Little Grit” — great for garden-loving kiddos and grownups alike.
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” by Gail Saunders-Smith. It was a great book for a young child; lots of pictures and a small amount of descriptive text. It describes picking apples from the tree to storing them in large wooden crates and finally trucking them everywhere. We were able to see the big wooden crates at the apple orchard; just like in the book!
