Child Developement

Stuck at home and can’t go out to your favourite garden? Let's bring the garden to your home! But that’s not the only reason to bring out the little gardener in your child. This will help you take baby steps towards raising an eco-conscious child and doing your bit for planet earth. While it seems ideal to have your own vegetable patch and a herb garden, you may not have space or face other constraints. So start small if you must, but make the introduction at the earliest. Children will love watching a seed turn into a sapling and bear fruit. They can learn responsibility and so much more from caring for the plant. 

With this fun activity, introduce your little ones to the world of plants and how best to grow them. 

‍Things You Will Need

• Seeds
• Soil or cotton
• Water
• Pot or transparent container
• Sunlight

Learning Objectives

While you follow the activity, ensure you focus on

• All about plants!tParts of a plant (Seed, Roots, Stem, Branch, Flower, Fruit, Leaf)
  What a plant needs to grow (Nutrition, Water and Sunlight)
  Stages in the plant lifecycle
  
• Language:ttVocabulary (Soil, Water, Grow, Sunlight, Pot)
  tttPrepositions (Under the ground, Above the ground)
• Numeracy:ttCounting seeds and keeping tally (water & hours of sunlight)
• Time Concept:tDaily, Morning, Evening, Night, Schedule
• Social Skills:ttTaking care of the plant, learning responsibility
• Life Skills/ADL:tGardening,  Ownership
• Fine Motor:ttInserting seed, pouring, scooping, touching
• Sensory:tTouch (cold, wet), Smell (wet soil, leaves, flower)
• Group ActivitytCollaboration, taking turns to water the plant with siblings/parents

Let's Get Started :)

Below is a list of resources, to help you conduct the activity with ease!

• The Activity Video : 

Watch & follow along :)

This video includes step by step instructions that your little one can follow and a complete guide to growing seeds,  Use the log sheets given below to help your child take care of their plants as this serves as a visual reminder and report of how their plants are faring.

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• Little Gardener - Daily LogSheet (Boy)
• Little Gardener - Daily LogSheet (Girl)

The plants need your love, water and sunshine to grow! Use this daily tracker to mark how much water and sunshine the plant received. 

Little Gardener - Daily Growth Log Sheet

How much did your plant grow today? Record your observations by drawing them in this log sheet or a logbook. 

As the plant grows, point out the parts of the plant, and label them in these drawings.

• Parts of a Plant - Flash Card

A simple naming activity for your child to learn what the different parts of the plant are called.

Activity Adaptation & Variations

For older children - 

Introduce different types of plants, the importance of plants, and growing what we eat.

For children with Vision Impairment  - 

Using a plastic zip lock bag to plant the seeds, the child can touch and feel the plant from outside the bag. 

If the plant is in a pot after 2/3 weeks uproot the plant and then feel all parts of the plant including roots. Write in braille in the logbook.

We are pretty sure your child will be thrilled to watch plants grow and enjoy the process too. And knowing that they cared for something and watched it thrive will bring about a special kind of joy and feeling of accomplishment. You don’t need to stop here. You can encourage your child to grow nutritious micro greens, easy to grow vegetables and even a flower garden. Good luck!