Sowing seeds is a wonderful way educate children and to help them form a connection to the world around them. It will teach your little ones some very important skills like,
- Hand eye coordination -as they handle seeds and sow them by single sowing of sprinkling.
- Patience -as they wait for seeds to grow
- Confidence -once their seedling grows and they’re successful
- Learn how seasons work and what grows or harvests when
- Where food actually comes from -and not just a supermarket shelf.
- How to care for and nurture living things
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It doesn’t need to be anything complicated that you start growing either, just growing something simple like sunflowers or a bean seed offers so many opportunities for fun learning.
Here’s a few other simple ideas to try:-
Spring Egg Heads- Cress Seed Activity
These cute little spring egg heads are a fun way to introduce seed sowing to children. Fast growing seed like cress will sprout within just a few days so children don’t have to wait to long before their eggs have hair to chop and munch. Find out how to make them here.
You can also find a lot of great information on sowing seeds with toddlers here.
Germinate Beans in jar
Sowing seeds in soil is an amazing experience for children but it can be hard to see how the process happens. This fun activity helps children actually see the process of how the roots and shoots grow. The process happens quickly with beans so there’s something different to record on a daily basis.
Sprouting Seeds
Children have a low attention span and get fed up waiting for seeds to grow. Sprouting seeds in a jar is a fabulous way to show them the process of how seeds grow and what benefit they have. Pop over to Creativehomemaking.com for full instructions.
When you want to sow seeds its also a great idea to learn how to sow seeds from a seed packet. There’s so much info a seed packet if you know where to look that will help your seeds grow successfully so check out how to read a packet here
Plant Bulbs With Kids
There are many different types of seeds and bulbs; corms, rhizomes and tubes are also forms of seeds with food storage to help the growing plant inside develop correctly.
To teach kids how plants grow is to teach them about life cycles and the seasons and give them a wonderful connection to the rhythms of nature. There are many different kinds of bulbs from garlic and onions to tulips, daffodils and gladioli flowers. Find out how to grow them here.
Whether its edible or floral seeds and bulbs like garlic, onions, tulip bulbs or crocus bulbs or pumpkin, poppy, marigold. There is a lot to learn so why not try…
- Help your kids plant their own garden? Whether its an edible space or strictly full of pretty flower your kids will love their own space.
- Teach kids about planting bulbs by planting with different sized bulbs
- Cut them open and allow kids to see their insides. Try bulbs like Tulips, daffodils, , hyacinths, onions, garlic, or alliums like onion and garlic are good choices for beginners. You can find bulbs for sale online or in your local garden centre.
- It’s important to discuss the different types of seeds and bulbs and the way they grow. Each group of plants has different growing habits and requirements. Remember to some bulbs are poisonous so make sure you supervise children with bulbs that are not toxic.
- Look at how the seasons affect the plant choices you make. There are seeds, bulbs and plants suitable for every colour, season and environment.
Microgreens
Microgreens are amazingly easy to grow and they pack a flavour punch too. Children will love sowing these seeds. They can be sown thickly and there’s such a wide variety of seeds you can grow this way, from excess broccoli seeds to beetroot and herb seeds.
- Simply scattering seeds thickly in a shallow tray over wet kitchen paper or a shallow dish of soil.
- Keep damp and within a few days you will have tiny seedlings to chop off and use in salads, soups and all manner of ways.
Kids also like giving these seeds a hair cut or sowing different coloured varieties like red kale and green lettuce to make pictures in the leaves. Write their names or initials in one colour and sprinkle a different variety and colour around them so the resulting seedlings produce delicious edible art too.
Seed Tapes
You don’t need to actually sow the seeds to explore them. Seeds come in all different sizes, colours and shapes. If you’ve sown seeds before, you’ll know some smaller seeds can be a little fiddly. A great way to handle tiny seeds like carrots, lettuce radish is to make and plant seed tapes. You can buy these in most garden centres these days but why not make your own. you can learn what seeds to sow this way, and which ones are big enough to plant direct.
It’s not easy to sow tiny seeds at the right spacing without washing them away or planted them too deep. To stop this we use seed tapes to get the right spacing and amount of seeds without having to pull out half the seedlings later on or re-sow the ones that wash away as this can be frustrating to kids (and adults) Learn how to make your own simple seed tapes here
Make Seed Bombs. It will be one of your favourite seed activities to try with your kids
If you don’t have your own garden to plant in, or room for a few pots, don’t worry! Here is a super simple way you can teach the kids to make seed bombs with paper so you can make your local area a little bit brighter! These simple seed bombs made with recycled paper and some seeds like calendula, sunflower seeds and radish and lettuce are fantastic for kids to make and plant in pots, spare patches of the garden or even in a friend or neighbours plot. They are a great gift kids can make for a loved one too and can be suited to their taste. My daughter once made Forget-me-knot seed bombs for a grandparent who lost a family pet which was so touching. Find out how to make your own here.
If your short on time and still want to give some seed bombs as a gift you can buy beautiful seed bomb gift tins over at Gardeningforkids.co.uk They have lots of fun garden themed bits fore kids and as gifts. We bought lots for Easter gifts instead of eggs this year too. If you want to take a look, I have a 10% Discount code to help you too. Just use GHK10 at the checkout.
Garden in a Glove
What’s better than watching seeds grow?
As a continuation from above, you can watch seeds grow, and try different ideas by growing in a glove. try different sized seeds or compare different varieties.
It’s a unique way to sow seeds with kids. To show them the different ways seeds can grow and compare different types of seeds. Sowing in the clear glove gives kids the full access to how the process happens. Check out the directions at www.outdoor-classrooms.com
How to sow seeds on your windowsill.
What if you don’t want a fleet of seed trays all over your house, or you don’t have a garden?
Don’t worry, you don’t need a lot of space, to grow or buy a lot of products. You can simply grow on a windowsill, shelf or patio pot.
Start by making recycled paper pots. There are several ways to make seed starter pots at home using or reusing materials you would normally throw away. Making your own is great for your pocket and even better for the environment. Some things like cardboard tubes even benefit your soil, so why not.
You can also re- grow kitchen left overs to make whole new crops. yes really! You can regrow lettuce, cabbage, onions and a whole range of other bits you have left over and make a whole new meal for your family. Check out our instructions and suggestions here
you can also try making a seed box to keep all your seeds in in an organised shoe box. Find our instructions here
Easy to make self watering monster pots.
These are fantastic soda bottle seed pots that are able to water themselves.
Use a left over soda bottle and a few crafty bits and turn it into a garden friend that will help you grow house plants, seeds and all manner of fun things. the growing plant also looks a bit like hair so you can come up with fun designs. The ‘tongue’ also soaks water up from a dish so the pot waters its self. Find full instructions here.
Encourage your kids to get up and get growing with these seed activities. All life grows from a single spark or seed. What better way to show that miracle to your children than with any of these simple seed activities? I’d love to know if you have ever tried any of these! Leave us a comment and let us know your best seed activities too!