Wearing appropriate clothing helps protect little ones in the garden
Summer is a wonderful time for kids to be outdoors in garden and the following tips will help keep your little green thumbs safe:
1. Always supervise your children in the garden. You don’t need to hover over the top of them but it is important to keep an eye on what they are up to.
2. Protect your little one’s hands with a pair of gardening gloves. Not only will they safeguard them from biting and stinging insects they will also help protect against any prickly plants. Continue reading →
Mackenzie shares with us her tips on worm farming for kids.Mackenzie Kupfer has been a lover of all things green since the age of six when she began gardening with her Nana. She is currently an online publisher for the provider of flower gardening supplies, Avant Garden Decor. In her free time, Mackenzie enjoys attending garden shows, hiking, and collecting ceramic tea sets.
Some gardeners take their craft so seriously that they forget the beauty of allowing children to help in the garden. If you are too uptight about your garden, it can create an unpleasant experience for both you and your kids. The trick is to make gardening an enjoyable experience for everyone involved. For kids to enjoy gardening, you need to work to make it fun for them and what is more fun than getting dirty?
Aside from helping you dig holes, the best way to let your kids get dirty is to involve worms. Kids love to play with worms and worms are great for your garden so it’s a win win! You can send your kids on a worm finding expedition and have them count the worms that you dig up while gardening. If you want to take it a step further, you can start a worm farm with your kids. Worm farms are great because you can turn your table scraps and yard debris into nutrient rich compost for your garden and a nice home for worms. It is also something that can be done year round. Continue reading →
Slaters are intriguing for children.
Call them what you will, but slaters (also know as woodlice, pill bugs, roly-polys or butchy boys) are fascinating for kids. They are found in gardens all over the world and kids love holding them and watching them roll into little balls. They are often collected as pets and are great to investigate when learning about minibeasts. Here are some facts you may not know about these intriguing little critters you can share with the kids: Continue reading →
Soldier beetles are very common at this time of year.
Little Miss B was recently invited with a group of kids to a play date in her friend’s garden. Unfortunately it was cancelled at the last moment due to the garden being inundated with a swarm of soldier beetles. I hadn’t seen these little critters for a number of years but it seems that our local area has become the ‘hot spot’ for them this summer as other people have been spotting them in their garden too. These beetles are interesting creatures so I thought I would share some cool facts about them with you and your kids: Continue reading →
Investigating compost critters
This week is International Composting Awareness Week so it’s the perfect opportunity to engage kids in the wonderful world of composting. Today my students and I rolled up our sleaves, pulled out the magnifying glasses and had a fun afternoon investigating the animals that live in our school compost. The kids absolutely loved it and I had a hard time getting them to put the compost back at the end of the lesson. They all wanted to stay after school and keep going! Continue reading →
Crickets can often be heard in the garden at this time of year
At this time of year on a warm evening it’s not unusual to hear the loud chirping of crickets in the garden. Children are often fascinated by the loud sound that they make so here are 10 interesting facts about these noisy little bugs you can share with them: Continue reading →
Are you looking for some great gardening and outdoor activities to do with the kids these school holidays? Here are seven ideas to get you started and stayed tuned, we will be posting more ideas in the coming days. Continue reading →
Ladybirds are a gardener's best friend
Not all bugs in the garden are pests. In fact many are very beneficial and the beautiful ladybird is one of them. These little creatures love to munch on sap sucking aphids, in fact they love them so much that they will consume approximately 2500-5000 during their lifetime! Continue reading →
Kids find snails fascinating
Many kids love to find snails in their garden. Snails are commonly found in many gardens and, like slugs, belong to the mollusc family. Continue reading →
Caterpillars - Cute little critters aren't they?
Caterpillars! They sure look cute and kids love finding them in the garden but boy can they cause some destruction! When I first started working in the school garden the students were so excited to show me the caterpillars that lived there. They thought of them almost like pets. That was until I explained that they were the reason the poor kale plants were looking the worse for wear. Well, then the hunt was on to rid the garden of each and every little green caterpillar that lived there. Continue reading →
