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Gardening with Kids: 5 Easy Tips to Get you Started

Rachel — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 19:55:10 +0000

Gardening can be a great activity to teach kids about the world around them. It’s been a few years since we’ve had a full-fledged garden, and despite the fact that I am way too pregnant to do much of the work myself, I was determined that this year we were going to do some planting.

My boys are almost 9, 6, and 4 and they are old enough that they can do most of the work with a bit of supervision. We started gearing up for our garden by learning about composting with our soda bottle compost project. It was a huge hit and now, a few weeks later, we’re ready to move into planting our seeds.

Keep Things Simple

The goal of our gardening project this year is to just cover the basics (and hopefully get a few edible things out of the process). We’re not worried about getting bogged down with details at this point.

We’re focusing on only a few vegetable varieties so we can maximize our chance for success. Easy to grow vegetables like cucumbers, zucchinis, and tomatoes are a great place to start.

Take Short Cuts

In the effort of time (and energy since there’s a significant lack of that going on around here lately), we bought a Jiffy Mini Greenhouse to plant our seeds into. This saved us from having to fill pots with soil and dealing with the mess that comes along with that, and we were able to get all our seeds planted in under 20 minutes so no one lost interest.

We wanted to start our seeds indoors, partially because the weather can’t decide what it’s doing around here at the moment and partially so my kids could keep a close on eye on any changes as they happen. The Jiffy Greenhouse gave us an easy solution and kept everything contained.

If you want to reuse items you already have, you can plant seeds in eggshells (like we did in this preschool science project about how seeds grow) or empty produce containers as well.

Use Kid-Friendly Gardening Tools

Everything seems to go smoother when you give kids tools to work with that are just their size, whether you are working in the kitchen or the garden. Most hardware stores sell kid-sized gardening tools or you can make your own using things around the house like they suggest in the book, Green Thumbs.

I’ve found that giving kids their own tools is also a great way to teach responsibility because they have to be sure and clean them off and bring them inside so they don’t get lost or rust. For younger kids, this is a huge lesson to learn and there’s no faster way to learn it than having a favorite object get damaged when they don’t take responsibility for it.

Give Kids Ownership

I firmly believe that giving kids ownership over their projects helps them to feel more invested and ultimately helps them learn more in the process. If you have older kids, give them responsibility over a specific task or plot of land in your garden. The success or failure of the garden then directly relies on them and kids love seeing progress when they know they’ve made it happen.

My 6 year old has been assigned the job of watering the plants and he takes it very seriously. I try and avoid reminding my kids to do things as much as possible because I want them to step up and take charge on their own.

My 8 year old will have his own small grow box to plant whatever seeds he likes and he’ll be responsible for the full upkeep. Since it’s a small area, that’s very doable for him at his age and he’ll be able to understand the full process from start to finish. I’m hoping it will get him to eat more vegetables as he sees them grow as well.

Explore your Local Library

With any project we work on, I love to expand on what we learn by taking a trip to our library. My kids love getting baskets full of books on the subject we are studying and they discover all kinds of facts that I wouldn’t have known to teach them on my own. With gardening fresh on our minds, we’re going to be stocking up on books about plants, flowers, photosynthesis, and more to dig through as we wait for our veggies to grow.

Green Thumbs is a book I’ve heard great things about, but unfortunately isn’t stocked by my library so it’s on our wish list of things to buy.

What are your best tips for gardening with kids?

Science for Kids – Soda Bottle Compost

Rachel — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 18:17:59 +0000

My kids are nuts about science so we’re always looking for projects we can do at home that really allow them to get hands-on and see the things we are learning about. With spring weather teasing us around here, we’re thinking about planting a garden, so learning about how to create compost was a great place to start.

This simple kids science activity uses an empty 2 liter soda bottle and some things you have around your house and yard to teach kids about how compost is made. The clear soda bottle is perfect for keeping on eye on the changes that are happening within your compost and it’s a great way to recycle something that would have otherwise ended up in the trash.

Supplies Needed

Empty 2 Liter Soda Bottle
Soil
leaves, grass, newspaper, spoiled produce, and anything else you can find in your home or yard that can be composted

Instructions

Cut the top off a 2 liter soda bottle and rinse it out well. Remove the label so that you can see everything inside the bottle well.

Start with a layer of soil on the bottom and alternate between soil and compostable material. You can use just about any plant matter. We had some peas that were getting mushy in our fridge so we threw those in with some dead leaves, grass, and pine cones. Shredded newspaper would have been great in here too.

I set my 6 year old loose in the yard and had him look for anything that came from a plant. Older kids can alternate green matter and brown matter in their compost and experiment with different levels of moisture on the rate of decomposition.

Feel free to get emotionally attached to your compost bottle.

When your soda bottle has been filled, add water so it can start composting. You don’t want it to be sitting in water but you do want it to be damp all the way through.

Let your compost sit for several weeks in a spot where it will get plenty of sun and won’t be tipped over.

What is a Hypothesis

Even young kids can be introduced to some basic science. After we were done creating our compost soda bottle, my kids and I talked about the scientific method and what a hypothesis is. Brain Pop is a great resource for explaining concepts to kids and they have a really fun video on the scientific method. It is a subscription service but they have a selection of free videos that rotates so you may get lucky, although it’s well worth the subscription.

Older kids can keep a scientific journal and write down their hypothesis and record observations as their compost pile changes. Younger kids can make a hypothesis about what will happen and keep an illustrated journal by drawing pictures of the changes they see happening.

Great Science Kits for Kids

No related posts.

Science Project – Importance of Brushing Teeth

Rachel — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 18:38:04 +0000

Most parents have had to deal with at least a few complaints of, “Ah, do I have to brush my teeth?” This hands-on science project is a great way to give kids a very visual answer to that question and teach kids about the basics of dental health.

Your teeth are protected by enamel but the foods that you eat can damage that enamel if you don’t brush well. The concept behind this project is simple — egg shells are very similar to tooth enamel so we set boiled eggs in different solutions over night to see how they would react. My kids were a bit disgusted by the results and we’ve had very dedicated teeth brushers every since.

Supplies

2 hard boiled eggs
2 glass jars
A packet of Kool-Aid
Vinegar

Instructions

Hard boil 3 eggs and let them cool completely. We boiled an extra egg just so my kids could compare the changes they saw on the other eggs.

Fill one of your glass jars with water, one with vinegar (we just used distilled white vinegar), and one with Kool-Aid. If you don’t have any Kool-Aid, you can substitute any sugary drink. We didn’t have any on hand because personally I don’t think any sort of food coloring is edible, but we found a generic packet for something like $0.15.

Have kids observe what each egg looks like before adding it to any of the solutions. This is a great time to talk about what a hypothesis is if you have older kids. We’re currently obsessed with Brain Pop videos and they have a great one on the scientific method. (On a side-not, I’m not associated with Brain Pop in any way. It’s just something we use on a regular basis in our homeschool curriculum and I highly recommend it.)

Add a hard boiled egg to each jar and leave them overnight.

Let the eggs sit for at least 24 hours and then pull them out of the jars so you can observe any changes. The egg in the water will look identical to the way it started out. Explain to your kids that this is what happens when we brush our teeth well.

Pull out the egg from the vinegar solution. Explain to your kids that some foods have higher acid content like citrus and tomato sauce. Even though these foods are good for us, they need to be cleaned off our teeth. The egg in the vinegar was the most interesting to us because the shell became soft.

Remove the egg from the Kool-Aid. Explain to your kids that this is what happens when sugary foods sit on your teeth for too long. The egg will have a rough surface because the sugar will have eaten away at the shell.

You can expand this project by having younger kids draw pictures of the each egg, before and after they sat in the solutions over night. Older kids can write a hypothesis of what they think will happen and write their conclusion the next day.

Follow-up this project with some great books on dental health. Here are a few of our favorites:

Make Your Own Constellations

Rachel — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 08:01:34 +0000

We’ve been learning about constellations as part of our homeschool curriculum lately. My kids are always much more excited about hands-on activities so we came up with this project to recreate some of our favorite constellations.

This simple constellation activity for kids can be used to recreate some of your favorite constellations, or for younger kids, to create some made up ones of your own. All you need is some basic supplies that you probably already have around your house.

Materials

Piece of Cardboard
Sharpened Pencil
Black Construction Paper
Flashlight

Instructions

I love to incorporate books into any projects that I do with my kids. It’s a great way to really learn a concept or extend some of your favorite books by combining it with a hands-on activity. Some of my favorite science books for kids are the Let’s-Read-And-Find-Out-Science series. I would buy every single one of them if I could.

For this activity, we started by reading The Big Dipper, which is a Stage 1 book in the series. This was a great lead in to the activity and introduced my kids to the Big Dipper, the Little Dipper, and the North Star, which are often the easiest things to find in the night sky.

My kids wanted to make their own Big Dippers so we started by studying the shape of the constellation in the book.

To make this project, lay a black piece of construction paper down on a piece of cardboard. The cardboard will give you a bit of a cushion and allow you to make puncture holes with your pencil.

Use a sharpened pencil to make holes in your paper in whatever shape your want your constellation to be. You can have your kids copy a real constellation and learn the name of it or make up one of their own.

When your kids have gotten their constellation just the way they want it, have them take their paper and a flashlight into a darkened room. Shine the flashlight behind the paper (this may take two sets of hands) and watch as your constellation lights up.

Dice Rolling Math Game for Kids

Rachel — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 05:31:08 +0000

Kids have a much easier time in upper level math classes if they start with a good foundation. Memorizing basic math facts, such as addition and multiplication tables, is a skill that is often overlooked during the elementary years but it’s essential for more advanced math.

Most kids are not thrilled about the idea of memorization, although it does get easier with practice. We turned memorization into a game with this simple activity that helps kids learn their addition and multiplication tables. This takes the fight out of memorization because it’s much more fun than flash cards or rote memorization.

Materials

2 or 3 dice – We had large foam dice that we picked up at a trade show somewhere (similar to this set from Learning Resources) but regular dice from a board game would do just fine. You can also find inflatable dice or buy dice in bulk online if you don’t have any available.

Directions

Addition – Have your child roll the dice. Whatever two numbers (or three if you want to throw an extra die in the mix to make it a bit harder for kids who have already mastered basic addition) land facing up will be the numbers your child will add together. In the beginning, it’s okay for younger children to simply count the number of dots on both dice. They’ll still be learning the basic concept behind addition. As they play the game, your children will begin to memorize their addition facts.

Multiplication – Have your child roll the dice. Again, the numbers that land facing up will be the numbers that your child will multiply together. If you want to work on individual multiplication tables, leave one die facing up (with a 2 for your 2 times tables for example) and roll the second die to create your multiplication problem.

What tricks do you have for helping your children memorize their math facts?

Preschool Science – How Does a Seed Grow?

Rachel — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 17:37:28 +0000

I love science projects for kids that use things we have around the house already. It’s a great way to recycle things that would ordinarily be thrown away and it allows you to do some really educational science activities without spending a lot of money. This simple science activity is perfect for preschoolers and elementary school aged kids and it’s a great way to teach about the structure of a seed and how a plant grows.

To prepare for this project, I saved eggshells for several weeks. I washed each eggshell half out and kept them in the fridge just to make sure everything stayed fresh (I realize that once we started the project I put all the eggshells outside but it made me feel better knowing they weren’t rotting on my kitchen counter.

Materials Needed

A dozen or so eggshell halves, washed and stored in the egg carton

Potting soil

Seeds – Look for something that germinates quickly. We opted for green bean seeds but anything will do

Instructions

Once you have collected enough empty eggshells for this project you can take your egg carton outside and fill each eggshell half with potting soil.

This is a great chance for kids to get their hands dirty — something that doesn’t happen enough most of the time.

Have your kids gently place one seed on top of each eggshell and then push it down into the dirt with their finger. Be sure the seed is towards the middle of the eggshells so it has soil all around it.

Now For the Fun Part . . .

Water your seeds and leave them to grow for 3-4 days. You can watch them if you want. They don’t grow any faster unfortunately.

Once they have had a chance to be in there long enough for some changes to start taking place, have your kids pick one eggshell to crack open and have a really good look at the seed.

Have your kids notice how the seed has changed. It may be helpful to have your kids draw a picture of what the seed looked like at first (or take a picture) and draw a picture of what it looks like after being in the soil for a few days then compare the two.

Repeat every few days and have your kids pay attention to the details that are happening as the seed grows.

You may want to leave the last few seeds in the eggshell and allow them to grow into a mature plant. You can use the eggshells as planters and place them directly in the ground to grow.

You can expand this activity by talking about the parts of a seed, what things a plant needs to grow, the parts of a plant, and the plant life cycle.

Additional Resources

Parts of a Seed

Science Fun you can Eat – Parts of a Plant Salad

Plant Seeds and Watch them Grow

How a Seed Grows (Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science 1) - I HIGHLY recommend this series

Easy Homemade Matching Game

Rachel — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 18:52:27 +0000

Now that Easter is over, you probably have all kinds of leftover candy and plastic eggs that you need to do something with. This homemade matching game is really, really simple to make and is a great way to use up some of those extra plastic Easter eggs.

Matching games are a fantastic way to introduce preschoolers to early math skills and this simple game helps with number recognition at the same time.

Materials

Plastic Easter Eggs

A permanent marker or small round stickers

Instructions

Count out 10 plastic Easter eggs. You can use more if your preschooler has already mastered counting to 10 and recognizing the numbers 1-10.

Use a permanent marker to write the numbers 1-10 on the top and bottom of the plastic Easter Eggs. You can make this game a bit easier by putting matching numbers on the same color eggs or a bit more difficult by mixing the colors up so that the matching numbers are on different color eggs.

Allow the marker to fully dry so it doesn’t rub off. Depending on what type of marker you use, the numbers will likely start to rub off eventually but considering this game took me less than 5 minutes to put together, I’m not really concerned with long-term durability.

If you want, you can write or print numbers on small stickers and use those to label the plastic eggs.

Variation for Older Kids

While my preschoolers were enjoying using this activity as a matching game, we changed up the rules a bit for my 7 year old. Since he is working on memorizing all his addition tables we turned this into a quick math game.

Take all the plastic eggs apart and drop them into your Easter basket (or another container). Reach in and pull out two egg halves and fit them together. Have your older child then add the two numbers together (or multiply them together if your child has already mastered addition). This activity turns into a fun way to quiz your child on his addition (or multiplication) tables!

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Preschool Activity – Calendar Concepts for Preschoolers

Rachel — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 21:24:45 +0000

Time is a tricky concept for preschoolers to understand. Developmentally, they are still learning to have patience (although let’s face it, most adults haven’t quite mastered that lesson yet either).

Learning the days of the weeks and months of the year is an important skill for preschoolers, but with a little bit of repetition and some fun activities, it is easily mastered. This simple preschool activity will help preschoolers practice writing their numbers, learn left to right correspondence, and become familiar with important calendar concepts.

Age Recommendation – 4-8

Materials Needed

A Blank Calendar – I like the one available at Lakeshore Learning (you can get individual calendars in the store if you have one nearby), but any blank calendar will work. If you can’t find one, make your own by printing blank calendar pages and binding them together.
A Wall Calendar
Something to Write With – Younger preschoolers may prefer to write with a crayon or extra thick pencil while older preschoolers can use a pencil (with or without a pencil grip depending on whether or not they have learned how to hold a pencil correctly – see our pencil holding teaching tips here).

Instructions

Introduce the concept of the calendar by singing simple songs about the days of the week or the months of the year. A bit of repetition is needed before preschoolers are able to learn these songs, but as they memorize the words they’ll learn valuable concepts that will make it much easier to understand how a calendar works later on.

Put your wall calendar down where your preschooler can easily see it. Your preschooler will use this to make it easy to see what day of the week each month starts on.

Have your preschooler open up his blank calendar to the first month. Help him write “January” at the top if it is not already printed on the calendar. Have your preschooler write the dates in each square for the month, using the wall calendar as a guide. Don’t worry if the number takes up the entire square. You’re not trying to create a calendar that you will use to write your schedule on each month – you’re simply giving your preschooler a visual way to see the passage of time and give him a chance to practice writing his numbers.

As your preschooler writes his numbers, watch to be sure that he is writing each number correctly. If you need to, show your preschooler how to put his pencil at the top and use downward strokes to form each letter. Encourage your preschooler to write the numbers from left to right rather than filling them in at random because this will help him to learn left to right correspondence, which is an important early reading skill.

Repeat for the remaining months in the calendar. This is a lot of work for a preschooler to do in one session. You can split this up so you do 1 month at the beginning of the month all year, or just break it up into short sessions and finish the entire thing at the beginning of the year.

Once your preschooler has written the numbers in for each month, he can draw illustrations for each month. This is a great opportunity to talk about holidays that we celebrate each month, seasons, and other changes that happen during the year.

Older Children – This activity does not need to be limited to preschoolers. While older children may not need to learn how to write their numbers, they may need help with handwriting or may still be struggling to understand how a calendar works. My 2nd grader sat down and did this activity with his younger brother and loved it. He knows the months of the year already but is still working on memorizing their order and figuring out how many days are in each month.

Preschool Books that Reinforce Calendar Concepts

Holiday Giveaway: The Human Body Detectives

Pamela — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 20:06:10 +0000

My son is very interested in how the body works. He is always asking me what happens to the food we eat, or why does our heart beat or how come we get sick. For me, personally, I greatly enjoying being able to share my medical education with my son, but for most these question may be harder to answer. A child with an inquisitive mind needs to be nurtured and feed, with accurate information. I am a firm believer that you should always answer the scientific questions with absolute truth and accuracy. No, this does not mean that I think you should give your four year old the complete 18 year-olds version of the birds and bees but you also should not give falsehood – especially thought that talk about the poop fairy or other mystical explanations for our body’s function. Gauge your child’s intellectual level when answering, and always be sure that you are answering the question being asked. If

you are not certain about the question, get clarification from your child, because you have to remember that they cannot always express themselves in terms we understand.

The Human Body Detectives

When it comes to the more extensive questions that usually come from your children between the ages of 6 and 10, you may want to turn to the aide of Dr. Heather Manley, ND, the creator of the Human Body Detectives Series. This series currently has three installments – the circulatory system, the immune system and the digestive system. Each one includes an activity workbook and audio CD.

The HBD stories feature two young “Human Body Detectives,” Merrin and Pearl, who magically enter different systems in the body to solve health mysteries. Through action packed educational adventures, listeners learn how the various systems work and which foods best fuel each system. The accompanying workbook’s activities, puzzles and colorful stickers reinforce what the kids learn.

Pam’s Review

I was given the chance to review on of the titles in the series and I selected Merrin and Pearl’s First Case: The Lucky Escape: An Imaginative Adventure through the Digestive System.

Merrin and Pearl’s little brother Robbie has swallowed a penny. Through magic and imagination, the girls find themselves on an adventure through his digestive system where they must grab the penny to help him and escape his poopy diaper.

I chose this one not because it was first in the series by because my son is constantly asking me about eating and food and poop! I love that the workbook starts out with a great overview of the digestive system. The audio CD is narrated by Dr. Manley and her daughters (Merrin and Pearl) “play” themselves. It is very easy to listen to, with good cadence in the speaking. My son was instantly enthralled (which I wasn’t quite sure would happen, since it was just heard and not seen). The workbook has a number of other activities, like a crossword, maze and wordsearch. It also has diagrams to label and questions to answer. There is also an answer key in the end. This is one of those educational tools, that teaches children without them realizing they are learning – making it fun and enjoyable. I would highly recommend the Human Body Detectives to anyone with kids in this age group. The information is simple but not patronizing to their intellects.

Enter to Win

One lucky winner will win a copy of Battle with the Bugs by The Human Body Detectives!

To enter, comment on this post and tell us what your kids want to know about their bodies.

This giveaway is open to the U.S. only and will end on December 17, 2010

In compliance with the FTC Guidelines, please note that this is a sponsored post. I was given a Human Body Detectives book to review free of charge, however, I was not paid for the review and the opinions are my own. Please see our site’s Terms and Conditionsfor a complete list of our contest and giveaway rules.

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Preschool Science Lesson – Egg Carton Butterflies

Rachel — Mon, 03 May 2010 18:37:01 +0000

The opportunity to explore the world around us is one of the best parts of childhood. I have rarely met a preschooler who doesn’t love exploring for bugs. My own kids will play with potato bugs for hours at a time and are thrilled to learn anything new about insects or butterflies. This simple preschool craft is a great opportunity to teach preschoolers the basic parts of an insect. While the scientific terms for each part of the insect may be a bit difficult for younger preschoolers, they can be introduced to the concept that an insect has three sections on it’s body.

Preschool Lesson Objective

Teach preschoolers that bugs can also be called insects.

Teach preschoolers that all insects have three body parts – the head, thorax, and the abdomen.

Help preschoolers understand that the eyes, antenna, and mouth is on the head of an insect.

Help preschoolers understand that the legs and wings are on the thorax of an insect.

Materials Needed

Empty egg carton
Paint
Paintbrushes
Pipe cleaners
Construction paper
Newspapers to protect work surface

Optional – Insect Lore Butterfly Garden Kit

Advance Preparation

Cut the empty egg carton into 3 segment pieces before this activity. If you are doing this with multiple preschoolers, cut one 3-piece egg carton for each preschooler. Styrofoam egg cartons would be easier to work with if you have them on hand but may not hold paint as well as cardboard egg cartons.

Preschool Craft Instructions

Ask preschoolers if they know what the word insect is. Explain that insect is another word for bug. Have preschoolers practice saying the word insect.

Give each preschooler an empty egg carton that has been cut into a 3 segmented piece. Tell preschoolers that all insects have three parts to their body. Have preschoolers touch the first segment in their egg carton and say the word “head”. Ask preschoolers what things they have on their head that might also be on an insect head. Tell preschoolers that an insect has eyes, antenna, and a mouth on it’s head.

Have preschoolers touch the middle section of their cut egg carton. Have preschoolers say the word thorax. Have preschoolers practice saying the word thorax. Explain that an insects legs and wings are connected to its thorax.

Have preschoolers touch the last section on their cut egg carton and say the word abdomen Tell preschoolers that they have an abdomen to and ask them to find the middle part of their body.

Have preschoolers paint their egg carton insects and allow them to dry.

Add legs and antenna to each insect. Be sure and add the antenna to the insect’s head and the legs to the thorax. You can stop at this point if you want to focus on insects. If you are doing this lesson as part of a butterfly preschool theme or to go along with a butterfly kit you’ll want to continue.

Have preschoolers fold a piece of construction paper in half and cut wings out. Wings can be taped or glued to the back or your insect to create a butterfly. The process is more important than the end result. Encourage preschoolers to be creative rather than try and create a perfect replica of butterfly wings. My preschooler had fun creating an entire series of wings so they could be changed to create a completely new butterfly.