It’s summer and our kiddos are home for another short break. Once we’ve exhausted summer camps, swimming lessons, vacation bible school and family vacation, we still have time left on the calendar to fill up with activities. If you’re looking for an educational project that’s proven to be tons of fun, consider planting a garden with your children. We took on this project and here’s what we learned in the process:

1. Take a field trip to your local gardening center. This is a great way to introduce your child to the important parts of planting a garden. As a family, we trooped down to the local gardening center near our home. Catherine was fascinated with the seeds, soil, pots and all things gardening. She had some idea from school that plants and vegetables originated from seeds and was eager to learn more.
   
2. Start with a small manageable garden to peak your child’s interest.We selected a very small economical herb garden with small clay pots. I don’t have a green thumb. The herb plants came with easy to follow steps. We learned that we would see results from herbs quickly. This would go a long way to keep her interested. Parsley, Basil & Chives Kitchen Herbs Grow Kit | Big Lots
   
3. Select vegetables and herbs that your child can use in a recipe or meal. Catherine loves spaghetti and has seen Merle use basil and parsley to prepare this dish dozens of times. The correlation to one of favorite meals was a great way to keep her interested.
4. Allow them to work independently as much as possible. We laid out the entire kit with Catherine and read instructions. She performed the tasks with very little assistance from us. She enjoyed putting on the gloves, preparing the soil and planting the seeds.
5. Keep track of the growth process. Catherine selected the window sill in our family room as the perfect spot for the right amount of sunlight and diligently watered her plants each day. The progress was swift and she saw the first sprout in just a few days. She loves to water her plants and is excited to see the progress.

This small garden has been a phenomenal success and we’re having tons of fun watching her develop her green thumb.