From the time Rémy could play outside, we’ve spent a large chunk of our day in the yard. At this point, he spends more time digging in the dirt than any other activity. His current obsession is burying a little crab, digging it up, and then burying it again.
The time spent in the dirt and mud is a free-to-explore time that is entirely child led and the only rules are around safety. No throwing rakes, but painting all your exposed skin with mud - sure, why not.
On the other side of the outdoor coin is gardening. This is an activity with established patterns, guidelines, and practices that need to be in place in order to keep plants alive. There may be room for horticultural experimentation down the line, but that’s after a child has a firm understanding of gardening basics.
I truly believe it’s critical to give every child both sides of the coin - free, exploratory experiences, and those that are grounded in established boundaries. One necessarily informs and builds up the other.
When Rémy is freely playing in the dirt, he is practicing all sorts of skills that gardening requires. He is developing an intimate relationship with the materials that he will be using when gardening. And when he gardens, he will be learning techniques that he can incorporate back into his free play time.
The same thing happens with kitchen play, and guided cooking practices. A toddler that is provided with both activities will likely become much more comfortable, confident, and creative within the kitchen.
So I’ve been waiting for a time when Rémy’s skill level would allow us to start a gardening practice. This Spring marks that point. At 21 months, he is ready to start helping out with some of the planting and upkeep.
The Benefits of Gardening
Why am I so eager to get Rémy started gardening? The activity provides some opportunities for learning and brain development that are phenomenal, and difficult to replicate elsewhere:
There’s all the gross and fine motor skills toddlers work on while gardening - although, they can probably replicate much of this during dirt and mud play. The difference is a heightened level of concentration, precision, and intention brought to the table. When planting, Rémy cannot simply plop down a plant into a pot in any which way, he must focus on using a steady and gentle hand to place the plant correctly.
Planting also requires following steps in a particular order over and over again. At this point we are just working on mastering each of the steps individually, but eventually toddlers can practice following two or three steps at a time. Once they have internalized the process, they can lead themselves and you through a multi-step process.
Working with plants will help toddlers develop Science vocabulary, and basic knowledge of how plants work. While they work, they are being exposed to words that make much more sense in context. Understanding a plant’s root system is far more likely if you’re handling plants than if you are only looking at pictures of them in books.
Gardening also allows toddlers the opportunity to really recognize where their food comes from. It is a window into the immense amount of energy that is required to sustain people on this planet, and a perfect starting point for talking about resources and agricultural practices.
5 Tips for Getting Started
There are a few things Rémy will be helping with this Spring. He will aid in planting new plants we are bringing into the garden, sowing new seeds, and watering. We are not ready for weeding because that first takes the ability to distinguish between all the unwanted weeds, and the wanted plants. We’re just not there yet, and I’m guessing we’d lose quite a few small plants to the weeding enthusiasm.
To make this a successful gardening season, here’s a few things I’ve been doing:
1. Preparing gardening skills with play and practice
Some of the dirt and water play that Rémy has engaged in leading up to this Spring mimics the specific movements required of gardening. Along with his plastic shovel and rake, we introduced our metal trowel into the mix of play equipment, and he has been practicing with it for months. At first, he struggled with its size, but now he reaches for it first because it can turn up dirt much better than anything else.
He has practiced digging holes, scooping dirt into buckets, and compressing the dirt in the buckets with his hands. All of these are steps within the planting process that he should feel comfortable with because he’s practiced them so much.
And then there is all the work he’s done learning how to water plants. He loves his tiny little watering can, and can spend an entire afternoon filling it up and sharing a little water with each of the plants out front.
2. Limiting our scope to a few high interest plants
I’ve wanted an herb garden for quite some time, the kind that offers up all sorts of wonderful tastes and smells to bring into our kitchen. But this is not the year to go crazy planting. This is the year to pick a few plants to learn how to care for.
Toddlers have a limited attention span and can easily become overwhelmed by large tasks. So I’ve kept my expectations in check. We will only be planting two to three plants at a time, and keeping the number of plants we will be “looking after” relatively small. This way, he can complete tasks, take small manageable steps every day, and we can enjoy the whole process.
Herb gardens and vegetable gardens are great entry points because they create a product that can be eaten. There are few things more satisfying than growing the food that ends up on your kitchen table. It provides toddlers and kids a sense of great accomplishment. Heck, it provides me with a sense of great accomplishment!
3. Having everything prepped and ready
It’s probably the teacher in me, but I usually approach each activity we do as I would inside the classroom. This means that before starting any activity, I make sure to prepare all the tools and materials in advance. Gardening is no different.
At this point our tools consist of his little watering can and an old trowel. I’m looking to expand by getting him his own gardening set like this one, but for these early plantings, we’re working with the bare minimum.
The herbs are being transplanted into pots, so I make sure to gather the tools, pots, soil, and plants together. Having everything set means that there will be no breaks in concentration, and the steps of the process are more likely to make sense and stick.
There’s nothing that kills a great activity more than having to go hunt something down while your toddler is sitting and waiting (or more likely, doing something unintended with the materials).
4. Model, describe, guide
Every time we plant, I start by telling him that Mama is going to take a turn first, and I ask him to watch closely what my hands are doing. At this young age, I recommend modeling the actions without trying to use too many words to explain what you are doing. I actually modeled in silence. And then I followed up by briefly describing the actions that he saw.
When it was Rémy’s turn, I guided him through each step of the process, reminding him with a few key words and gestures. If I felt like he was veering too far off course, or was about to damage the plant, I stepped in and guided his hands.
For the most part, I was able to stay out of his way. The only step in the process that was beyond his skill level was putting in dirt all the way around the transplanted plant. I did that part, and then he compressed the dirt with his little hands.
5. Extend the learning with books and activities
Although I make sure to use vocabulary words like soil, roots, leaves, pot, and transplant, I did not dive into a lesson on plant anatomy, or inspecting the soil. I’m careful about how much information I’m presenting at one sitting. Too much, and most of it will wash right over your toddler.
For these early gardening experiences, Rémy will have enough on his mind trying to figure out the steps of the process, and how to make his hands physically perform those steps. Adding more into the mix is just a distraction.
But before or after the actual garden work takes place is the perfect time to frame out the experience with books or extension activities. At the library, I picked up a basket of books about gardens, plants, flowers, soil, and bees. Reading through them extends the gardening activity we are doing, and helps build knowledge for the next time around.
What are your tips and tricks?
Looking for additional gardening ideas and projects for your little ones? I’ve found https://kidsgardening.org/ to be chalk full of good stuff, and I’m sure I will be referencing it quite a bit down the line.
Now that we are all heading out and getting our hands dirty, I’d love to hear about your gardening experiences with your toddler. What helpful tips or tricks have you discovered?
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