Hands up if you find it difficult to keep the kids (and yourself) interested in gardening during the winter months? Don’t worry, you are certainly not alone. It is often cold, wet and windy during this time of year and who wants to spend time in the garden with the kids when the conditions are like this? It can be difficult to find activities to keep kids engaged and entertained when they are stuck inside and the weather is dismal so I have come up with five indoor gardening ideas to help beat boredom and keep your children interested in gardening this winter. Continue reading
Here is part two in our series on designing the perfect kids garden written by professional garden designer Helen Spry from Ezyplant. Helen is a mother of two very active boys and has been a domestic garden designer for 10 years. In this post Helen looks at equipment that can be added to a kids garden to encourage imagination, play, relaxation and exercise. To see part one where Helen discusses matters relating to productive gardens, turf and paths for kids click here.
Trampolines provide hours of fun and physical activity and are available in a range of sizes. Apart from the physical benefits they can also be used for reading and doing homework. A quiet outdoor classroom provides a wonderful space for learning and can be helpful for remembering spelling words or math sums. Jumping on a trampoline or bouncing a ball while saying the word/sum out loud can make all the difference in retaining information for some children. Give it a try!
Sandpits provide a creative space and will guarantee hours of play. The bigger the better especially if you are catering for more than one child. Essentially a 3m X 3m size pit will allow 2 children to play happily. If your garden allows, consider a huge pile of dirt for hours of fun digging, making mud pies and creating cities with roads and houses. Continue reading
Today’s first guest post, in a two-part series, is by domestic garden designer Helen Spry. A mother of two very active boys, Helen has been a domestic garden designer for 10 years. She operates a garden design consultancy business, Eco Garden Design Pty. Ltd., and an online garden planning website. Greatly influenced by her great-grandfather and grandfather, who were both garden designers in their time, she has had the advantage of a lifetime of learning. Her passion and immense interest in domestic design led her to establish Ezyplant.com.au, a D.I.Y. garden planning website for the home gardener.
As parents we can struggle to balance our lives with the added pressure to keep a healthy balance in our children’s lives. With technology so accessible, it can be an easy option at the end of a long day to give in to their requests.
Imagine coming home and having your children racing to get into the garden! Here’s some important design elements you can incorporate into your garden to entice your children away from technology. Continue reading
Wednesday, June 5th is World Environment Day (WED) and this year the theme is Think.Eat.Save. There is no doubt that global food production is placing an enormous strain on our natural resources however WED is the perfect opportunity to talk to your kids about food miles, food wastage and reducing their ecological footprint whilst celebrating our wonderful world. Here are ten activities you can do with your kids to celebrate World Environment Day and help reduce their footprint: Continue reading
Just in case you haven’t worked it out by now, I love gardening with kids. Last week I asked our followers on Facebook “If you could use one word to describe what it is like to garden with little ones what would it be?”. The answers were wide and varied but overwhelmingly most people used positive words to describe gardening with kids. The most common response was ‘inspiring’ which in itself is inspiring to read. It is wonderful to read that so many people can understand the benefits of gardening with children. Other words used included: Continue reading
Autumn leaves are not only beautiful and fun for kids, investigating and playing with them help develop skills in areas such as science, maths, communication, art and even music. Little Miss B and I spent this morning out in the garden collecting, playing, sorting, talking and creating with a pile of leaves we gathered. Here are five fun and educational activities you can do with your kids in the garden with autumn leaves this season. Continue reading
