25 Best and Fun Gardening Activities for Preschoolers

Gardening activities for preschoolers are an excellent way to introduce them to nature and the outdoors. You can teach them the importance of taking care of the environment and the benefits of eating fresh fruits and vegetables through a fun and educational activity.

With gardening activities, preschoolers can learn about the life cycle of plants, how to properly care for them, and gain an appreciation for the natural world around them. Therefore, your little ones will gain many advantages as they become closer to nature.

Moreover, gardening activities for preschoolers can be a great way to foster a love of nature and help them develop the skills necessary for growing plants. With the right tools, supplies, and enthusiasm, gardening activities for preschoolers can be a fun and educational experience for all involved.

If you are looking for the best ideas to excite your kids, you have come to the right place. Here are 25 fun and engaging gardening activities for preschoolers that will help them learn about the wonders of nature.

Table of Contents

What Preschoolers Learn Through Gardening?
How Do You Make Gardening Fun for Preschoolers?
What Age Should Your Children Start Gardening?
Best and Fun Gardening Activities for Preschoolers
Final Thought
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

What Preschoolers Learn Through Gardening?

Preschoolers learn a variety of valuable skills and concepts through gardening. Gardening helps children develop an appreciation for the environment, an understanding of plants’ life cycle, and the importance of taking care of living things. Besides, gardening teaches preschoolers about nature, nutrition, science, and mathematics.

By participating in gardening activities, preschoolers also learn about cause and effect, problem-solving, and teamwork. Gardening also helps to develop motor skills as children practice using tools and digging in the dirt.

Finally, gardening helps to build positive self-esteem as children observe their hard work paying off with a harvest of delicious fruits and vegetables.

How Do You Make Gardening Fun for Preschoolers?

Making gardening fun for preschoolers can be done in several ways! Firstly, find activities that will engage and excite them, such as digging for worms, planting a sunflower seed, and looking for bugs.

Secondly, provide them with fun tools appropriate for their age and size, such as a child-sized spade, watering can, and gloves. You can also let them help out with age-appropriate tasks. This could include watering plants, helping to plant seeds, gathering leaves, or weeding.

Additionally, create a sensory garden with plants that have interesting textures and smells. Moreover, turn the activity into a game by having them identify different plants and flowers or play a game of hide-and-seek among the garden plants.

Finally, you can have a simple picnic in the garden. This will give them a chance to explore and enjoy the park differently.

What Age Should Your Children Start Gardening?

The best age for children to start gardening depends on the child – some may be ready to start gardening as young as 3 or 4, while others may only be ready once they are 8 or 9.

If you want to introduce your preschoolers to gardening, consider starting with simple tasks such as digging, watering, or collecting seeds. According to reviewed.com, children can begin gardening from 2-5 or toddler age.

Moreover, weeding and picking ripe fruits and vegetables are also great and fun tasks for children. As children age, they can move on to more complex tasks, such as planting and caring for their gardens.

Best and Fun Gardening Activities for Preschoolers

Gardening can be an incredibly fun, educational, and rewarding activity for preschoolers. It offers children the opportunity to get their hands dirty, observe nature in action, and learn about the environment. Here are some of the best and most fun gardening activities for preschoolers.

1. Fairy Garden Creation

gardening activities for preschoolers — Fairy Garden Creation

When it comes to a great garden idea for kids, we recommend you create a fairy garden. Choose a spot in the park that is suitable for the art project. Make sure it’s easy for preschoolers to access and has plenty of room for them to move around. Ask your kids to place small trees, shrubs, and flowers in the soil. Add a few stones or pebbles to the ground to add texture and interest. Remember to place figurines and other decorations in the soil to make your garden look magical.

2. Play Garden-Themed “I spy”

This is a delightful game on days when you don’t want kids to get messy. Gather your group of kids and decide who will be the “spy” and the “seekers.” Have the “spy” select a garden item for the “seekers” to find. Give the “seekers” clues to help them locate the item. While playing the game, you can exercise by taking a stroll through the garden.

3. Make a Scarecrow

This is a terrific exercise for toddlers who are just starting to learn about gardening. By utilizing the clothes and materials you already have, you can use this scarecrow project to engage kids in the design process while explaining the function scarecrows serve in gardens. It is also an opportunity to recycle old clothes and a garden hat while making a creative gardening project to sit in your vegetable garden.

4. Dissect A Flower

Perhaps your toddlers are curious about flowers. Preschoolers can learn about a flower’s various components by dissecting a flower, which is an excellent teaching strategy. It’s simpler to demonstrate the specifics than to merely describe them. Help the youngster cut the flower apart using scissors or manually plucking the various pieces. As you do this, talk about every aspect of the bloom.

5. Plant Seeds with Growing Greeting Cards

This is a great spring garden activity you can do with your preschoolers. Simply prepare the soil in the plantable card. Place the seeds into the ground and lightly cover them with a thin layer of soil. Lightly water the soil and keep it moist until the seeds sprout. Place the card in a sunny spot and continue to water the soil as needed. When the plants have grown, transplant them into a larger pot or in the ground.

6. Examine Different Seeds with Magnifying Glass

It’s time to be a little scientist! The garden offers various things to explore, so why don’t you ask your preschoolers to examine different seeds? Place the different types of seeds on the paper towels. Show the children how to use the magnifying glass to analyze the seeds. Explain that they can use the magnifying glass to look closely at the details of the seeds. Ask the children to describe what they see when they look closely at the seeds. Encourage them to identify their shapes, colors, and texture.

7. Make A Simple Bird Feeder

If you are looking for an educational gardening activity for 5 year olds, how about making a simple bird feeder? Especially if your kids are interested in bird watching, they must love this garden-themed activity. A toilet roll, some birdseed, and some twine or string are all that is needed for this straightforward bird feeder. You can roll the toilet paper in peanut butter first, then in birdseed. The bird feeder is then ready to hang in a tree for the lucky birds once the cord or twine has been looped through the toilet roll.

8. DIY Wind Spirals from Plastic Bottles

Sometimes your preschoolers want to decorate their dull garden. How about making DIY wind spirals from plastic bottles? Besides creating pretty garden decor, you can also teach them about recycling and protecting the environment. Let your kids color these wind spirals with acrylic paint. Hang the wind spirals in a window or outside and watch them spin in the breeze.

9. Grow A Bean Seed

Let your little ones learn how plants grow with this easy gardening activity for preschoolers. We recommend you choose a bean seed as it grows fast and is easy to observe. Find a clear glass jar and set the bean inside with cotton wool as the soil replacement. The bean seeds grow slightly more quickly if you soak them overnight. Ask your kids to keep the seed moist by watering the bean. Watch the bean’s root and stalk grow as water and sunlight help it to thrive.

10. Make A Coffee Can Bug House

The majority of kids find all kinds of creepy, crawly critters intriguing, including spiders and ants. So, making homemade bug houses is a simple and ideal task that lets kids see and learn about bugs. You only need an empty coffee can container with teeny-tiny mesh windows to keep the bugs alive and provide kids a place to observe them. Moreover, place a few leaves and twigs inside the can. You can also add a few drops of water to the bottom of the can to provide moisture.

11. Homemade Salad from Harvested Vegetables

Want more fun and exciting ideas for gardening with preschoolers? Allow your youngster to participate in the entire planting, watering, tending, and harvesting cycle of various veggies. Harvest the produce after the process and prepare a tasty salad to enjoy. As your child describes how they planted and grew everything, observe the joy on their faces!

12. Marbled Pots Planting Craft

When it comes to preschoolers’ gardening crafts, making marbled pots would be fantastic. Terracotta flower pots, acrylic paint in various colors, and water are the only supplies required. This gardening hobby is enjoyable and easy, and the results are stunning, adding lovely colors to a typical ceramic pot. Additionally, it’s a really cool method for marbling paintings.

13. Grow A Grass Head

A fun gardening activity for 4 year old who love crafts, ask them to repurposed old stockings to grow a grass head! You can have a mini indoor garden that will survive any season, making it one of the best winter garden activities. Stuff the grass seed and soil mixture into the toe of the stocking and tie the top to create the head. Then, glue some plastic googly eyes to make your grass head look more lifelike. Finally, water it and watch as your grass head begins to grow!

14. Montessori Flower Activities

Montessori is always a fantastic way to stimulate kids’ brains, especially toddlers. And you can also use Montessori as a part of gardening activities for preschoolers. With the Montessori Flower Activities book, ask your preschoolers to learn about flowers they see in the garden. Each page features unique activities to practice. From cute flower picture cards and word cards to the growth cycle of a bulb flower, your kids will have a wonderful day in the garden.

15. Make Seed Bombs

Seed bombs are a fun and creative way to engage kids in gardening. They allow kids to get their hands dirty and explore the process of planting and growing plants. Kids also enjoy the challenge of throwing the seed bombs and seeing how the plants grow from them. Therefore, you can ask them to create seed bombs from seeds and soil mixtures. The surprise of seeing the plants sprout from the seed bombs can be exciting and rewarding!

16. Seeds Sensory Bin

Suppose you want to teach your preschoolers in a fun way; you can add it to a gardening activity like this. Ask your kids to create seeds sensory bins. Simply fill the small plastic storage bin with sensory bin filler. We recommend using black beans for safety. Then, spread small pom poms, jewels, and loose numbers as “seeds.” Challenge your kids to sort the seeds by color to practice their touch sense. You can also use small gardening pots and tools and ask them to learn how to plant seeds in the pot.

17. Egg Shell Garden Experiment

If you plan to make a low-maintenance child-friendly garden this spring, we recommend you do this fun experiment with your little ones. You only need eggshells, soil, small plants, and a tray or container to plant the seedlings. Using a nail or a needle, help your kids make small holes in the dry and clean eggshells. These will allow the soil to drain. Then, fill each eggshell with soil and seedlings, leaving a little room at the top for the seedling. Place your eggshells in the tray or container, water them regularly, and watch the seedlings grow!

18. Grow A Carrot Top

Growing a carrot top is a fascinating vegetable garden activity for preschoolers. Put a carrot top with some root growth at the top into a tiny dish to begin your project. Place a layer of cotton balls in the container and fill it with just enough water to soak them without drowning them. Have your kids water the cotton balls daily to ensure they stay moist. With this activity, they will learn how to take care of plants and improve their observational abilities.

19. Herb Sensory Play

Teach preschoolers the fundamentals of gardening by planting a small herb garden in a few containers. Children can learn about new aromas and flavors and the varied applications of herbs in cooking by using fragrant herbs like mint and basil. It will be a fun garden literacy activity as they cut herbs, grind, smell, and handle herbs. This garden activity during autumn combines fine motor skills and sensory play as your little gardeners help harvest and explore.

20. Create a Gardening Sensory Bin

This is a great garden design for preschoolers you should try. Creating a sensory bin with nature would be a fun and engaging activity for preschoolers. Simply prepare a large shallow bin, 900g black beans, bamboo mini pots, fabric flowers, wire cutters, and plastic sand tools. Ask your kids to fill the container and pots with black beans. Add fabric flowers and make sure they fit the pots. Finally, arrange these pots in the bin along with the sand tools.

21. Build Frog Habitat Garden

This is one of the best spring garden activities for preschoolers to take care of plants and animals simultaneously. To make a frog habitat garden, add rocks and logs to create hiding spots for the frogs. Then, plant plants such as aloe vera and water lettuce to provide food and shelter for the frogs. Ask your kids to monitor the area for any environmental changes, and make sure to maintain the site, so the frogs have a safe and healthy home.

22. Measurement Garden Activity

Measuring is a crucial life skill you can introduce from a young age. To begin, we advise doing this printable Measurement Garden Activity with preschoolers. Seeing how big the objects in their garden would get, it would be nice to practice measuring. Your preschoolers may learn about counting, comparing, reading, and writing while enjoying the garden scene. The result may astonish the toddlers because the garden was more extensive than their room!

23. Making A Dedicated Play Garden

Create a special play garden where children may cultivate plants, engage in sensory play, and have their own digging area! This is also part of child-friendly gardens and an ideal gardening activity for 3 year olds. Have the kids help build the garden by digging holes, planting plants, laying down mulch and rocks, and arranging the decorations. Remember to add a few kid-friendly features, like a sandpit, a water feature, a treehouse, or a tire swing.

24. Learn Colors And Numbers with Flowers

Preschoolers are a perfect age to learn about colors and numbers. So, fill your kids’ garden with various flowers to excite them. You can take them for a simple walk while observing flowers around. Tell the preschoolers each flower’s name and color and ask them to identify it. Later, you can create a mini-game and ask them to count how many flowers they see in the garden.

25. Five Senses Games

Ask your preschoolers to use all five senses in the garden, making a brilliant sensory activity idea. Preschoolers can practice their touch sense by digging dirt and sitting in the grass. Take a sound scavenger hunt walk to train their sound sense. You can also play smell and taste guessing games with various fruits and vegetables in your child-friendly garden. Don’t forget to ask them to describe the animals they see.

Final Thought

Finally, gardening for preschoolers can be a great way to get children interested in the natural world and help them develop an appreciation for the environment. Through hands-on exploration of plants, soil, and other garden components, children can understand how things work, build problem-solving skills, and develop a sense of responsibility for the planet.

We hope this article can inspire you to create a fun and educational experience for preschoolers and an enjoyable time outdoors with family and friends.

Latest Post:

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

Is gardening a creative activity?

Yes, gardening can be a creative activity. Planting and maintaining a garden requires creative problem-solving skills, such as choosing the right plants for the space and climate, finding creative solutions to dealing with pests and diseases, and discovering interesting ways to arrange plants and features.

Gardening also encourages creative expression, as gardeners often customize their gardens with unique decorations and features.

Is gardening a motor skill?

Yes, gardening can train kids’ fine motor skills. Gardening requires a variety of physical movements and activities, such as digging, planting, weeding, pruning, and harvesting.

These activities help develop coordination, strength, balance, and fine motor skills. Working on projects that call for precise motions and wrist, finger, and hand coordination exercises the small muscles and joints and teaches them how to cooperate to finish a task.

How does gardening help a child’s social development?

Gardening can help children develop a sense of responsibility and pride in their work. It can also help them develop important social skills such as cooperation, communication, and problem-solving.

Additionally, gardening can help children learn about different kinds of plants and how to care for the environment. Most importantly, gardening can be a great way for children to connect with nature, which can positively impact their physical and mental health.

How does gardening help a child’s cognitive development?

Gardening can increase kids’ problem-solving skills as they learn how to plan the garden, select plants, and troubleshoot challenges. Gardening also encourages critical thinking skills as children decide how to care for the plants and solve any issues.

Additionally, gardening allows children to explore their natural curiosity and observe the environment around them, increasing their knowledge and understanding of the world. All these activities can help to stimulate a child’s cognitive development.