5 outdoor gardening activities you can do with kids

Looking for some fun activities to do with your little ones this spring break? Spring is the perfect time to be outdoors and experiencing the new growth happening all around. There are many ways to encourage exploration and creativity all while learning about our environment! Here are a few example activities from the Living Classroom lesson archive. 

1. Newspaper Pots

In this activity children will create newspaper pots using a strip of newspaper, an aluminum can, some masking tape and a sharpie. You roll the newspaper around the aluminum can folding the paper at the bottom and then taping it closed to create a pot. Add soil, plant a seed in the center and water! Time for gestation depends on the instructions at the back of your seed packet. 

For more detailed instructions and for information on seed saving, please see our Newspaper Pot video. 

1. Nature Creatures

Go for a nature walk and be sure to collect all six parts of a plant. Roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruit, and seeds. Grab a clean sheet of paper and move the parts around to make eyes, ears, a nose, a mouth, and hair or make an animal including whiskers and a body. Be creative and have fun! When you’re happy with your creation tape the plant parts to the paper. 

For more detailed instructions please see our Nature Creatures video. 

1. Quiet Leaf Tracing    

This is a great mindfulness activity to give yourself a brain break or a calming activity to do with your children. You will need blank paper, crayons or markers, and a few leaves. Get outside and go for a walk. Collect leaves along the way on your walk and try to see if you can collect different types of leaves.. If you cannot, a few of the same types of leaves will be fine for this activity. On a clean sheet of paper, place your leaves in a pattern on your paper and carefully trace around the edge of the leaves. Move the leaves to another pattern on the page and trace again. Do this until you have filled the entire paper. Don’t worry if you’ve gone outside the lines. Have fun and enjoy tracing!

For more detailed instructions please see our Quiet Leaf Tracing video.

1. Make a Bug Hotel

Encourage creepy crawly critters to visit your yard by building them a bug hotel. You will need a small box, and many sticks, rocks, leaves, or other organic materials you can find outside. You can also use paper towel rolls or egg cartons or other paper waste products. Find a shady spot to place your bug hotel because bugs can often be found under rocks and in dark shaded areas. Start building your bug hotel by adding your materials one row at a time adding a few spots that will help you to be able to see inside. Check the hotel daily to see which critters have moved in!

For more detailed information on bugs, specifically decomposers, check out our Bug Hotel video.

1. Plant a Seedling

The sun is out and the soil is beginning to warm up and it is a great time to get a small garden started. Planting seedlings is an easy way to start for the inexperienced gardener and children. You will need a small outdoor space or garden bed with fresh potting soil to get started. If you have a balcony or small patio you may consider container gardening. Be sure that the area gets plenty of sun so your seedlings will thrive! You will need to plant seedlings that are great for spring. In the San Jose, California area some examples include cantaloupe, cucumbers, pumpkin, rosemary, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, watermelon, and zucchini. To get specific seedling advice for your location check the Farmer’s Almanac website. 

Using a trowel, dig a small hole in your container or garden area about the size of a fist. Add a little water to the bottom of the hole. Gently pull the seedling from the pot gently taking care not to harm the root ball. Place the seedling into the hole and cover with soil. Water generously. 

To get detailed information on how to properly plant seedlings please see our Plant a Seedling video.