Howdy, It’s me again, sharing our adventures in the garden with the young children I care for. Whether your backyard is big or just a cozy corner, I’ve got some neat updates and tips that you’ll really love. Welcome to more activities in my nature home childcare.
Gardening is the ultimate summer activity for little ones. It’s more than just fun; it teaches young children real-life skills. They learn all about different fruits, veggies, herbs, and plants—and the best part?
- We kick things off with little pots of soil and seeds, doing our best maintenance for a successful garden.
- Seedlings emerge in a few weeks.
- Transplanting day – we gently move the seedlings to the raised bed garden where the roots can stretch out and the seedlings can grow.
As the crops grow children learn to care for them. A roster can be used to allow all children to water the plants, as many children love a watering hose. Watering turns into everyone’s favorite chore, especially when they get to play with the hose.
This is the same garden bed – weeks apart. The dirt is rich, filled with compost materials and the seedlings are happy.
Our Growing Mix:
We’ve got a bit of everything growing in our garden:
- Herbs like – thyme and scallion
- Greens like – kale and bok choy.
- Okra, Beans
- Tomatoes popped up thanks to our feathered friends or the compost doing its thing. Year after year, we have tomatoes reseeding themselves; it’s beautiful.
- Zucchini squash is our favorite vegetable to grow. It is very easy, and the children love identifying parts of the flowers when they blossom. I am blessed with picky eaters, and the children eat zucchini in our homemade zucchini bread or meatballs—I am good at hiding their vegetables in our meals.
- Potatoes growing in containers.
- Okra & Beans. Do you like okra? I love okra!
- Tomatoes – These tomatoes were planted by the birds or compost. We saw them growing and, we cared for them, soon they were budding and now, we are reaping from the three plants at the front of the yard.
- My daughter watering autumn qquash that is growing in a raised bed garden.
- Zucchini is our favored vegetable and we plant these yearly. We love roasting, baking and making casseroles with them.
HARVEST TIME
My daughter harvested some beans, okra and zucchini.
My preschooler harvested some tasty grape tomatoes.
We removed the pods from the beans.
More zucchini and cucumbers
We went on vacation and returned very large zucchini, some of the largest we’ve ever had.
The butternut squash grew and matured well.
Harvesting leads to teachable moments where children do more investigative study and analysis as they dissect and peel away layers.
Some of the large sunflowers grown this year.
These are some red peas I planted in a pot. I got them from my dad on my last visit to Jamaica.
I like to make dill and cucumber salad or pickles.
Pickled cucumbers
Cooking together is a big deal in our house. Thanks to my dad, I started young, and now I’m passing those skills and memories on to my kids. Whether chopping Swiss chard or whipping up a meal, cooking together is about more than food. It’s about sharing love, teaching resilience, and building a legacy with my family.
Make fun summer memories in the school garden with your kids( children) So, come along on this green-thumbed journey with us. We’re not just growing plants; we’re growing bright, caring, and capable young minds.
Thanks for reading. May your schoolyard be filled with curious children caring for the many herbs, vegetables, fruits, and ecosystems that come with gardening.
xoxo Miss Sue
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