National Children’s Gardening Week

At 1st Place, we’ve been celebrating National Children’s Gardening Week with lots of digging, planting, and watering fun! Our children have loved getting their hands dirty while learning about growth, nature, and the joy of looking after living things. 

Gardening offers so many learning opportunities – from developing fine motor skills to building patience and understanding the world around us. And best of all, you don’t need a garden to get involved! 

🌱 Why Gardening Is Great for Young Children 

Gardening helps children: 

• Understand where food comes from 

• Learn responsibility by caring for plants 

• Develop fine motor and sensory skills 

• Boost wellbeing and connect with nature 

• Spark curiosity and scientific thinking 

🌻 No Garden? No Problem! Try These Windowsill Gardening Ideas 

Even a sunny windowsill can become a mini-garden. Here are a few easy, child-friendly planting ideas you can try at home: 

🪴 Grow Cress in Eggshells 

You’ll need: 

• Clean, empty eggshells 

• Cotton wool or kitchen paper 

• Cress seeds 

• A little water 

• Marker pens for decorating (optional) 

How to: 

1. Decorate the shells like little faces (optional but fun!). 

2. Place a piece of damp cotton wool inside each shell. 

3. Sprinkle on some cress seeds. 

4. Pop them on a sunny windowsill and keep the cotton wool moist. 

5. Watch them grow in just a few days – give your cress ‘haircuts’ to eat! 

🌿 Grow Herbs in Pots 

Perfect for adding flavour to meals and lovely scents to the kitchen. 

You’ll need: 

• Small plant pots or recycled containers with drainage holes 

• Potting soil 

• Herb seeds like basil, parsley, or mint 

How to: 

1. Fill your container with soil, sprinkle in a few seeds, and lightly cover. 

2. Water gently and place in a sunny spot. 

3. Keep the soil damp (not soggy) and watch for sprouting in 1–2 weeks. 

🥬 Regrow Lettuce from Kitchen Scraps 

A fun way to reuse scraps and learn about plant life cycles. 

You’ll need: 

• A lettuce base (like romaine) 

• A shallow dish 

• Water 

How to: 

1. Cut the base of the lettuce (about 2–3 inches from the bottom). 

2. Place it in a shallow dish with water, base side down. 

3. Put it near sunlight and change the water daily. 

4. Watch as new leaves begin to sprout in just a few days! 

🌻 Sunflowers in a Cup 

Children love how quickly these grow – and how tall they can get! 

You’ll need: 

• A paper cup or pot 

• Potting soil 

• Sunflower seeds 

How to: 

1. Fill the cup with soil and push a seed in about 1 inch deep. 

2. Water gently and place on a sunny windowsill. 

3. Once it grows big enough, you can move it to a larger pot or community garden! 

Whether it’s on a windowsill, balcony, or garden bed, gardening helps children learn to care, observe, and wonder. It’s also a great way to spend mindful time together, away from screens and closer to nature. 

If you give any of these ideas a go at home, we’d love to see photos – tag us @1stplacentre

 National Children’s Gardening Week – Official Website