Planting a garden this year? Here are some easy tips to make gardening with kids easy and fun!
Gardening with preschoolers, especially in group daycare or preschool settings, can sometimes be a challenge, but don’t let that stop you from doing it! There are simple ways for everyone to grow a successful garden, even if you aren’t a master gardener. Gardens provide amazing learning opportunities for kids. They learn about plants, bugs, patience, and so much more, all from one simple garden.
Don’t forget to download our free garden observation journal below!
Gardening with Kids +Free Plant Observation Journal
I’m not the best gardener, but I try every year with my daycare kids. We have always used these Miracle-Gro Gro-ables that I used to be able to find at Walmart/Target because they make it so easy, but this year, I can’t find them. Instead, we are using seeds and this set of seed starters. They are super easy; we just add the seeds and water. That’s it! You can wait until the plants grow a bit in the starters or just put them directly in the pots. It’s super easy!
My kids love it when we start our spring garden. It doesn’t have to be overcomplicated or perfect; children get so much joy from growing a little garden like this. There is so much learning to be had, too.
My girls took over the second I handed them the seeds. They didn’t need much instruction or help. They just put the seed in the seed pots, then dig a small hole in the soil, and then push the seed pods into some loose potting mix.
Gardening with kids is super easy.
We planted our herbs first. The kids decided that the herbs should all grow near each other, so they put them in one pot together. They also wanted them near the play area so they could smell them as they grew. It’s a good idea to plant a variety of plants so that kids can examine how different plants grow and flower.
Some of our seeds needed to start inside before being moved out to the garden beds, so we simply placed the seed pod in a cup, making sure it got lots of sun and water. In a few days, we’ll transfer them to our outdoor garden beds.
To make our gardening experience even more interactive, I created simple garden observation journals (download below) for the kids to use. It allows my preschoolers to explore plant life and document the process of growing plants.
There is so much to learn when gardening with kids; having a journal is so helpful!
This is another one of those easy gardening ideas that helps expand the learning kids can do in the garden. It opens conversations about the life cycle of plants and what happens in a garden. The free printable has pages for what plants need to grow, what we planted, and daily (or weekly) observations.
In 1-2 weeks, the seed will sprout, and the kids can update their garden observation journals with new observations about the garden.
Download our Free Garden Observation Journal and get started today! Track plant growth, bugs found, weeds, garden maintenance, and much more! It’s a great way to talk about gardening with kids!
Tips for easy gardening with kids:
- Assign everyone their own space. We used craft sticks as markers for each child’s area.
- Don’t worry about how it looks. You don’t need to worry about making sure everything is in perfectly spaced rows, evenly divided; just focus on the process. That’s all the kids care about.
- Don’t stress about tools. You don’t need a bunch of gardening tools either. Kids usually prefer to use their hands.
- Pick relatively ‘easy-to-grow’ crops (cherry tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, herbs…) and be aware of your area’s growing season
- Start from seeds. Kids learn more about the process if you engage them from the beginning. Using starter plants is much easier, but kids miss an important part of the plant life cycle.
- Maintain the garden together. Gardening doesn’t end when the seeds are planted. Assign gardening jobs, like watering or weeding, to children each day or week.
- Observe garden creatures! Bugs, worms, and butterflies! Talk with kids about what bugs do for the garden or what critters have arrived since planting? We record bugs in our observation journals (download link above).
- Learn about the foods you planted together. How long do they grow for? What are the signs a fruit or vegetable is ready to be picked? What can you make with them?
- Harvest & eat! Let kids harvest their area themselves and incorporate them in the preparation of the food. Kids learn more (and are more likely to try new foods) if they are part of the whole process.
Share your tips on growing plants with children! What do you do to make gardening fun for kids?
Looking for more crafts and activities? Check out our index for 100+ kids activities! Find activities by theme, materials, skills, age, and much more!
UPDATED 2026