Teaching Garden Curriculum Ideas Children learn through play [2/4]

The best way to allow them to do this is by providing them fun and exciting hands-on activities that also stimulate all of their senses. If you want to get them curious and learn about gardening, give them fun activities related to just that.

Activities can include, but are certainly not limited to, things like sensory play, special snacks or cooking activities, outdoor games, arts and crafts, and so much more!  Teach Gardening by Playing Pretend Dramatic play is a favorite type of play for young children and also very important for development. With this type of play they imitate things they see going on around them in their everyday life. To encourage them to learn about gardening, allow them to observe you in the garden and provide them with an area (it can be indoors, outdoors, or both) for dramatic play, garden themed.

Child-sized gardening tools is great for this. Provide gardening gloves, hats, miniature tools, aprons, empty seed packets, watering cans, plastic pots or other containers, fake flowers and let them imitate the act of gardening. You can even work together to create your very own DIY garden hat to wear outdoors

Legos or other types of building blocks can be used to construct pretend garden beds or, if children are a little older, you can help assist them to build garden or window boxes out of wood materials.

Other garden items that can be constructed or replicated include:

• Greenhouses Birdhouses/feeders
• Bug hotels Produce stands