Gardening Activities for Toddlers
Gardening with your little one isn’t just about growing plants – it’s a sensory, educational, and wildly fun adventure. See this list of fun Gardening Activities for Toddlers to get them excited to grow their own plants.
If you love everything about spring, check out these amazing Fun Spring Activities for Kids!
Toddlers are at a prime age for learning through play, and the outdoors offers boundless opportunities to explore. I’ll give you some gardening-related ideas that are perfect for your tiny gardener.
Gardening is a metaphor for life, teaching patience, resilience, and hard work in the most literal of senses.
Here’s how you can instill these values early, helping your toddler flower into a well-rounded individual with these fun Gardening Activities for Toddlers!
This post may contain affiliate links meaning I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post. Read my disclosure policy here.
See a list of my favorite Amazon Deals for your home and homeschool.
Patience is a Plant
Growing from a seed can feel like the world’s slowest magic trick to a toddler. But each day, if you water, care, and watch, that magic is happening – leaves are unfurling, roots are reaching.
Teach your toddler that good things come to those who wait with this lesson in patience.
Making Memories
Create a ‘memory book’ or journal of your gardening adventures. Stick photos, samples of leaves or flowers, and scribbled toddler notes about what they’ve learned.
Not only does this preserve memories, but it also teaches children to value the experiences they’ve had and the growth they’ve achieved.
The Harvest Helper
When it’s time to pick your produce, toddlers can be useful harvest helpers. Teach them the concept of ‘ripe’ and ‘ready’ as they pick tomatoes, strawberries, or snap peas – it’s a lesson in responsibility and the rewards of hard work.
Recommended Spring Books for Toddlers
Read and experience the spring season with these awesome books for young learners.
Get them excited to grow their own plants and discover more about this season of growth and new beginnings.
Spring is Here: A Bear and Mole StoryLola Plants a Garden (Lola Reads)I See SpringLittle Blue Truck’s SpringtimePlanting a RainbowA Little Book About Spring (Leo Lionni’s Friends)
Recommended Spring Toys for Toddlers
If you’re looking for fun and educational toys for your kids this spring, try these hands-on toys. Spring is the season when flowers bloom and butterflies go from flower to flower feeding on the nectars, and these toys are just perfect for this season!
Kenley Counting Ladybugs -Montessori Counting Toys for Toddlers -Wooden Educational Learning Toy for Girls&Boys 3 4 5 Year Old – Learn Numbers&Develop Fine Motor Skills -Math Preschool Kids ActivityCPSYUB Toddler Toys, 18 Month Toys, Easter Eggs Learning Toys for 1, 2, 3 Year Old Girls / Boys, Montessori Matching Eggs Educational Color & Shape Recognition Skills Gifts Toys BPA Free (12 Eggs)AOJOYS Montessori Toys Baby Easter Toys for Toddlers 1-3 Years Old, Educational Wooden Carrot Toys Shape Size Sorting Matching Puzzle, Great Baby Easter Gifts Birthday Gift ToysLydaz Bubble Lawn Mower for Toddlers, Kids Bubble Blower Maker Machine, Summer Outdoor Push Toys, Valentines Day Birthday Gifts Easter Basket Stuffers Toys for Preschool Baby Boys GirlsFUNZBO Flower Garden Building Toys for Girls – STEM Toy Gardening Pretend Gift for Kids – Stacking Game for Toddlers playset – Educational Activity for Preschool Children Age 3 4 5 6 7 Year Old BoysLearning Resources Poppy the Count & Stack Flower Pot – 15 Pieces, Fine Motor Skills Toys for Toddlers, Preschool Toys, Ages 18+ Months
Gardening Activities for Toddlers
Gardening with toddlers is not just about planting seeds; it's about nurturing curiosity and joy in the wonders of nature's playground. Below are some gardening-themed ideas to do with your cute little gardener!
Get outside and learn how to plant flowers with your kids and give them a love of the outdoors while you put those screens away.
Transform everyday household items into a vibrant, recycled container garden, sparking both creativity and sustainability in your little gardener’s heart.
Watch your toddler's excitement bloom as they craft and nurture their very own Cress Heads, a simple yet magical introduction to the world of gardening.
Planting seeds with toddlers turns tiny moments into big discoveries, providing a hands-on way to teach them about the cycle of life right from the start.
For a splash of creativity and color, guide your toddler in painting their pots with vibrant, non-toxic colors, making each planting activity a masterpiece in its own right.
Encourage your toddler to get their hands dirty with the 'Invitation to Play with Mud' activity, a wonderfully messy yet educational way to explore textures and the joy of creative outdoor play.
Discover the joy of homegrown flavors by teaching your toddler to plant garlic cloves in small pots, a simple yet rewarding way to grow their very own garlic for spicing up homemade bread.
Transform an old toy dinosaur or fairy into a magical resident of your own homemade 'Toyrarium', creating a miniature garden full of wonders for little hands and imaginations to explore.
Craft a symphony of sounds in the garden by creating this DIY Garden Xylophone, where your toddler can explore musical notes using different lengths of hollow tubes or plant pots.
Set your toddler's imagination free by creating a Play Garden, a designated space where they can dig, plant, and pretend, cultivating not just plants but their very own magical garden stories.
Building your own Tiny Greenhouse is a fantastic way to introduce your toddler to the wonders of plant life, creating a personal haven where their curiosity and green thumbs can flourish together.
Construct a Simple Bug Hotel with your toddler to harbor friendly garden insects, teaching them about the importance of biodiversity in a fun and hands-on way.
For an imaginative blend of gardening and math, use an empty paper towel tube as pretend soil, popsicle sticks as stems, and cup liners as flowers to plant a Number Line, teaching accountability and numeracy in an innovative, playful way.
Craft a Simple Egg Carton Spring Flower Garden by transforming cardboard egg cartons into blooming flowers through small holes for planting, green drinking straws as stems, laying a bed of artificial grass as the garden, and vivid paints to bring the egg carton flowers to vibrant life.
I hope you found a fun gardening activity to try with your toddler. Gardening is an exercise in creativity and exploration. Each activity is a seed, waiting to germinate and grow with your little one.
More Spring Activities
Garden Scavenger Hunt Printable on Homeschool of 1
Life Cycle of a Flower Hat on Homeschool Preschool