Soil3 community and schools Ag In The Bag

Gardening With Children - Teaching Ideas and Resources for Projects

Hillary is communications director for Super-Sod. She earned her BS in Horticulture from UGA and has spent the last 30 years marketing plants and gardening products. She used to be a tree snob, but after walking barefoot on a Zoysia lawn, is now a Zoysiagrass snob. When not picnicking on her own Zeon Zoysia lawn, growing vegetables, identifying roadside weeds, or planting hydrangeas and Japanese maples, she spends her time pursuing the domestic arts of knitting, cooking, canning, making things like beeswax candles, and throwing dinner parties. Her great love is helping customers learn how to take care of their lawns, garden better, and enjoy the journey.

March 25, 2020 1 minute read

Welcome to agricultural education fun with Soil³!

This blog is a resource for educators and parents who are looking for teaching ideas as part of their science or agricultural education curriculum . . . or just for fun with the family.

5 Tips for Teaching Children How To Garden

Start Small
You don’t need a large area to teach gardening. In fact, it’s easier to maintain interest by starting small.
Choose High Interest Plants
Leafy plants grow rapidly and can be harvested more than once.
Cultivate Good Habits
Establishing regular watering and plant care schedules cultivates consistency in children.
Enjoying the Fruits of Their Labor
Children get firsthand experience of the food cycle when the plants they grew appear on their plate.

Online Resources

Digging Into Soil: www.diggingintosoil.org
Kids Gardening: www.kidsgardening.org
School Garden Project: www.schoolgardenproject.org/resources/curriculum
We Are Teachers: www.weareteachers.com
Life Lab: www.lifelab.org
Teacher Vision: www.teachervision.com/gardening
Growing Minds: www.Growing-minds.org
Soils 4 Kids: www.soils4kids.org
Plant a Seed Day: www.plantaseedday.org
Children and Nature: www.childrenandnature.org
Bloom from Scholastic: www.scholastic.com/bloom/index.html

Book Resources

We are the Gardeners, by Joanna Gaines
Beginner Gardening, Step By Step by DK
Raised Bed Gardening, For Beginners by Tammy Wylie
Gardening With Emma: Grow And Have Fun – A Kid-to-Kid Guide by Emma Biggs
Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt by Kate Messner
Botany in a Day Book and Game by Thomas J. Elpel
Sunflower Houses by Sharon Lovejoy
Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots by Sharon Lovejoy
Toad Cottages & Shooting Stars by Sharon Lovejoy
50 Weekend Garden Projects by Nancy Bubel
Gardening Projects for Kids by Jenny Hendy

gardening with kids book photo

Soil³ Kits

These kits are available for delivery and online ordering:

Workshop Bundle: 1x BigYellowBag of compost + 50x 5-gallon Root Pouches
Raised Garden Kit: 1x BigYellowBag of compost + 2x 100 gallon Root Pouches
AG IN THE BAG^® Classroom Kit: Mini Cube of Soil³, 30 quart-sized Root Pouches and saucers, 2-3 packets of seeds, resource booklet, custom tote bag

Raised gardens are the solution if you don't have a place to grow veggies. Check out our Raised Garden Kits.

These raised gardens are ready for the tomatoes that will be planted in the spring. The spirals are tomato stakes!

raisedbeds