Hello friends, hope you all are doing well. Today, I am going to share some very easy gardening activities for kids. Since we are still not going outside and spending all of our time at home, I am always looking for engaging & fun activities for my son. Apart from playing, dancing, singing, and doing DIY and art & craft, we have also included gardening as an important activity in our daily routine.

The best part about gardening is that this is the only activity that can give children a feeling of being outside. They can be close to nature when attending to plants in the garden. The gardening activities have proved quite beneficial for my son.

Do you know garden activities can help reduce stress in children and improve their concentration?

We all know how the pandemic has made our life tough and we are constantly battling with our overwhelming emotions. But do we even realize that this situation is equally stressful for our children too? They can’t really understand what the pandemic is and why they are still not allowed to go outside or meet their friends. But I am sure parents can feel the stress build up in their kids.

You may also read – Staying active while staying at home with these Fun Activities with Family!

Nemit loves being close to nature & he enjoys spending time with plants. During the lockdown, I started involving him in gardening activities and I saw an instant boost in his mood. I have even noticed an improvement in his concentration. He’s learning to be patient and calm while spending time with plants.

So, parents if you have not yet started involving your kids in gardening activities, I would suggest that you do so now. Let your child spend time with plants. There’s no right age for a child to participate in garden activities, start as early as possible. You can simply start by showing them how to water plants and pull out the weeds. And gradually move on to complex activities like planting seeds, making organic fertilizer, preparing the soil for transplanting, etc.

You may also read – How the Lockdown helped Families to Adapt & Evolve?

Gardening activities are also an excellent way to learn about plants and healthy eating. You can talk about types of plants, parts of a plant, edible parts of a plant, seasonal vegetables, and fruits, pollination, seed germination, and many more. Since this will be practical learning, they will remember it forever. Alright now, let’s start with the gardening activities for kids.

Easy & Fun Gardening Activities for Kids

1-  Planting seeds in a DIY plastic bottle planter

First, you need to prepare a planter for this activity. We have made a DIY planter using a waste plastic bottle for this gardening activity. Please involve your child while making the DIY planter and talk to him about the concept of recycling and upcycling objects. We have simply cut a rectangle on one side of the bottle. You may also cut it in half and use it. Here, Nemit’s Nani has made a planter using an old light bulb, isn’t it looking beautiful?

PIN IT!

PIN IT!

We have tried planting coriander seeds, you may use any seeds that are available at home and plant cuttings. If you use coriander seeds then you have to first prepare them before planting. Take seeds and crush them gently so that the husk opens up. Now, soak these seeds in water for 1 day. The next day you can plant them.

Here’s a quick video of Nemit showing how to plant seeds in a DIY plastic bottle planter. Check it out!

 2 – Gardening Activities for Kids, Planting Tomatoes

Now, this is a really fun activity for kids which you should definitely try. This was actually a task given by Nemit’s teacher during the online class where children were supposed to plant tomato seeds on their own. Again this is an easy activity which kids will definitely enjoy.

You may also read – How to make young kids pay attention during online class?

You just need 1 tomato cut into thin slices for this activity. Check out this video where Nemit is showing how to plant tomatoes.

3 – Plant a Flag and Grow a Seed

Now, this one is quite an interesting way to grow a plant. Last year, on Independence day, my husband received an unusual gift from his office. It was a Seed Flag Kit and we found it just amazing. That was actually a paper flag with a seed inside it. Nemit wore that flag on his white t-shirt to school for the Independence day celebration. And, in the evening we planted that in a pot that came along with the kit.

Guys, Independence Day is around the corner, why not try this kit instead of buying plastic flags this time. Check out the video below –

I hope you liked these easy gardening activities for kids. And, if you don’t have a garden but want to create a cute little green corner in your house then you can check out the below video. We have converted our small boring balcony into a beautiful and interesting balcony garden in just 5 simple steps.

Do tell me in the comments below how you liked these gardening activities for kids. And if you are already involving your child in the garden what all activities are you doing together.

The post Easy & Fun Gardening Activities for Kids to do at Home appeared first on Growing With Nemit.

Will you believe if I tell you that we had zero plants in our home until 2 months back? Yes, none! And, today our home is full of green plants and finally, we also have a balcony garden.

How did that change happen?

Just a small realization, we travel and look out for places that are green and full of life. We love to spend time amidst nature so thought why not put some extra effort & bring nature inside our home. Taking that first step was extremely difficult for me because plants need love & care just like little kids. Glad we took that first step & now we’re doing so much better.

We are still learning & wish to add more & more greenery around us.

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So, here I am sharing the 5 simple steps in which we created our Balcony Garden from scratch. I hope it inspires you to bring more greenery inside your home too-

Things you will require-

1. Artificial grass (this is optional, you can also use carpet)
2. Plants (lots & lots of plants of your choice)
3. Wall decor items (we used paintings, mirrors & lanterns)
4. Mattress & cushions (you can skip the mattress if you don’t have one)

STEP 1- Wall Decor using DIY planters

Initially, we put the artificial grass on the floor & then went on to drill the holes on the wall to put hangings. But we soon realized our mistake, removed the grass and moved on to wall decor. Since we have 2 walls we decided to put some DIY bottle planters on one wall and use other decor items on the other wall.

DIY Plastic Bottle Planters

These bottle planters are easy to make and are a great way to upcycle single-use plastic bottles. And these give a fun quirky look to the wall. If you have less space in the balcony to put potted plants then it is definitely the best way to add greenery to your small garden.

You may also read – Self-design an effective fitness plan!

STEP 2- Wall Decor using paintings, mirrors & lanterns

We used a set of 3 paintings & a set of 2 round mirrors to decorate the second wall. I had one big bottle planter which I used on the top wall and tea light lanterns on the side to complete the look.

Wall Decor 1

I bought all these decor pieces from Amazon during the Great Indian Festival Sale. Here are the links, in case you want to buy the same decor items-

Hosley Decorative Round Iron Wall Mirror

STEP 3- Place artificial grass on the floor

Now we cleaned the floor and placed the artificial grass, it instantly added to the garden feel. This grass is available online too but we were not sure about the quality so we got it from a local store.

Artificial grass

This grass is easy to maintain, you may use a wet cloth to wipe it once a week to keep it dust-free. I prefer washing with water once every 2-3 months since we don’t get much dust. It has small holes on the bottom so the water easily seeps out.

Price – Rs 50 per sqft.

You may also want to read – Reasons I am Happy & Proud Being a Housewife!

STEP 4- Add more plants in the balcony garden

The next step is to add more plants onto the floor. The more plants, the more lively the area will look. Since we have a really small area, we put only 3 large pots on one side, 2 medium size pots on the opposite side. And, placed a bamboo rack in one corner with some 6-7 small pots on it.

Small Plants

More plants

STEP 5- Make a cozy sitting corner

Now, the final step is to make a cozy sitting corner in your balcony garden. You can either put some chairs if you have more space or create a floor seating as we did by using our son’s old cot mattress.

Cozy sitting corner

This balcony garden has become our most favorite place in the house and our mornings usually start with spending some time here together.

Here’s the full video of how we converted our boring balcony into an interesting balcony garden. Check out our Balcony makeover –

I hope you like our idea of creating an interesting garden by adding some greenery & fun elements to the dull & boring balcony. If our small cozy green area inspired you to create yours too, do comment below & share this post with your friends & family.

The post Balcony Garden-How to make a boring balcony into an interesting garden? appeared first on Growing With Nemit.