Let’s get growing: Early years gardening activity

The focus for National Gardening Week (24 May – 1 June) is on new and beginner gardeners. Develop children’s curiosity and wonder for planting and gardening with our early years gardening activity.

Early years gardening activity learning aims

This early years activity will help children to:

• Develop fine motor skills
• Practice mathematical language, comparisons, measures etc.
• Spark curiosity and wonder
• Explore the natural world and promote a love of gardening.

You will need:

• Plant seeds
• Compost
• Small seed trays or egg cartons
• Water spray/small watering can
• Labels/pen.

Early years gardening activity guide

• If possible, take children to a local shop or garden centre to look at the packets of seeds on offer. Encourage children to select a packet of seeds (or agree on their 3 favourites) to grow in your setting. These can be flower seeds or vegetables
• Once back at the setting, take a look at the seed packets and discuss the information they give e.g. the height and width that they grow, whether they like to be planted in the sun or shade etc. Take out the seeds and examine them, compare the different seed packets and note the differences
• Look at the resources you have to plant your seeds, invite children to share their own experiences of gardening at home, or plants and flowers they see in their local community or during celebrations and festivals
• Talk about what plants need to survive: water, air, food, soil and light
• Demonstrate how to plant a seed (fill a seed tray cube or egg carton slot with soil, poke a hole in the soil with a finger and place the seed in the hole, cover with soil and add water). Encourage the children to plant their own seeds
• Ask the children where you can find the most light in the setting (usually the window ledges) and place your seed trays there
• You can create a mini greenhouse to retain moisture and speed up germination by placing the planted seeds into sandwich bags and tying off the ends or you can use 2 empty fruit cartons (such as from strawberries) by placing the planted seeds inside one and adding the second as a lid (Remove the sandwich bag/cartons as soon as the plants are visible)
• Add labels to your seed trays/pots so you know what is growing in each, alongside the date of planting
• Ensure regular volunteers water the plants each day, plan time to observe the changes that occur and measure the growth as it changes over time.

How can you extend this lets get growing activity guide

Make your own garden plan, with children, to determine where your plants can go and what else you could add to the area.

Disclaimer: Activities with children must always be risk assessed, including for allergies or choking. Children must always have adequate supervision. Resources and materials must always be appropriate for children’s age and stage of development.