Get the Best Family Activities
8. Add other wildlife-attracting elements to your habitat: water, shelter and places to raise young. NWF suggests building toad homes, brush piles, a pond, and a bat house.
9. Provide kid-sized tools and teach young gardeners how to use them safely. Equipment can be found in most garden stores, but don’t overlook at-home options such as spoons and measuring cups.
10. Eliminate use of toxic chemical fertilizers, weed killers and pesticides. When necessary, use natural alternatives instead.
11. Practice good hygiene. When it comes to gardening, getting dirty is half the fun for children. Make sure they wash up well after working in the soil, as it can contain a variety of contaminants, including chemicals and harmful bacteria.
12. Encourage children to do a share of all the garden chores but be mindful of their limits.
13. Visit the garden with your kids every day to make sure you don’t miss its rewards: flowers opening, butterflies sipping nectar, ladybugs eating aphids.
14. Take advantage of teaching moments. If you uncover a pill bug on the ground, for instance, explain that its roly-poly posture is a means of defense. If your children pose questions you can’t address, seek out the answers together. A visit to the library or Internet might be part of the journey to discovery.
15. Encourage children to share their garden with friends and family. Giving tours reinforces their ownership of it and helps instill a sense of pride.
16. Invite reflections of each day’s gardening experiences: Talk about what went on, what was seen and so on. If time permits, have kids draft notes in a journal, draw a picture or take photographs. All of these actions serve to reinforce what was learned—and enjoyed.
For additional gardening tips and information about turning your garden into a Certified Wildlife Habitat, please visit NWF. For other ideas about how to work outdoor time into your family’s routine, please visit Be Out There. .
