Chapter 2 – How to manage your garden

Activities

When thinking about activities, choose tasks that suit the child’s age and ability. Have some simple tasks that young children are able to help with. Filling plant pots with compost is an easy job…and fun too. In addition, when gardening with children, it’s a good idea to have a separate digging area available so that they can practice with tools and techniques (for example, digging and raking.) This will ensure that the areas where plants are planted don’t get damaged. Mud pies are also always a winner, so you could create a mud play area away from the planting.  Other simple activities include:

• Watering the garden
• Digging
• Picking flowers and vegetables
• Planting vegetables, fruits and flowers in the correct season
• Tasting and preparing healthy food, such as making salads
• Craft activities using harvested seeds, plants and flowers
• Composting, recycling and mulching
• Weeding
• Gathering seeds and dried flowers

Films

There are many ways in which you can link learning to what is happening in the garden. Here are a few ideas to get you started