Gardening PK 5/K

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I am very strategic about when I do a gardening unit because I want to spend the week that we are doing this unit actually gardening in our garden outside (yes, I am unapologetically using my own kids to do some manual labor in our yard). So, I felt like April was the best time of year to do this unit. It also corresponds so well with Earth Day (the week before) and Bug week (the week after), so it ends up being a pretty seamless flow of helping the planet and spending time outdoors at the perfect time of year.


This year, I saved up several kits from consignment stores to make our own indoor and outdoor children’s gardens, which was a huge help. My husband was gone for the week, so I was really happy I had thought ahead and had a fairy garden and glow in the dark garden that kept my kids busy for a while. They are also good ways to teach the girls responsibility, as I made it pretty clear these gardens were solely their responsibility. Yes, it’s a big gamble because they could easily kill it, but better this than an animal and they have to start somewhere!


Later in the week, during co-op we planted a garden outside with organic veggies and herbs that I loaded up on at Lowe’s (thank you, military discount!). Getting our hands in the dirt was really fun, and my girls, who are usually terrified of bugs, pushed past their fears to help me.


We did loads of crafts this week, but the most fun stuff we did this week was play with an over-the-chair felt garden I found at Target and out Green Toys Build a Bouquet. We pulled out our bugs a little bit early and pretended we were planting gardens and even that bugs were pollinating our garden to help them grow. All of this play probably seems silly and a little young for my girls, but I think getting hands on over and over again is the best way for something to resonate in their young brains. Hugely popular with my 3 year old and being so hands on this week meant that she was able to be just as invested in school as Aria.


Though weeks like gardening and bugs may at first appear like throwaways, I find them to be successful in getting my kids outside in nature, which helps their mental and physical well being. It also gets them to be more hands-on and it is great when you can find ways to teach kids responsibility. Plus, if you are like me and making learning fun is important to you, units like this are awesome at giving kids a break from the really structured, heavy materials of, say, continent units, and letting them get back to the basics. Never underestimate the power of kinesthetic learning! ​