Spring weather can be a fickle friend – one moment it’s sunshine, and the next, it’s pouring rain! But don’t let a little unpredictability keep you from enjoying your garden. Our garden team recently hosted alumni from our Graduate Program in Education for Environment and Community (EEC), and many brought their little ones along. Here are two fun activities they used to explore the garden, engage everyone’s senses, and learn about plants.

Poetic Produce

Get those creative juices flowing! Set up tasting stations around the garden featuring different herbs and edible plants. We tried sorrel, spearmint, oregano, and chives – get creative with what’s growing in your area.

Encourage everyone to really focus on the taste, smell, and even the texture of each plant. Then, break into groups and challenge them to write poems, songs, or even short skits using all the descriptive words they came up with. Afterward, discuss collaboration and teamwork – it’s a great way to build social and emotional skills.

Fabulous Five Scavenger Hunt

Kids will love this garden mystery! Start with this riddle:

“In order for me to grow big and strong, you are going to need to help me along. Five things I need to stay alive— We’ll call them the fabulous five!”

Hide clues throughout the garden, each leading to an essential element plants need: sunshine, water, air, etc. The final clue should be a real head-scratcher:

“Sun, water, air, and space— are things I need to grow. But there’s one more thing I need, you know. It’s dark and brown, under your feet, without it my life will be incomplete. Look for the place where worms can dwell, complete the Fab Five and your plants will grow well.”

The answer? Soil! Wrap up the hunt with a seed-planting activity to reinforce the lesson.

The next time the skies turn gray, don’t despair. A little garden adventure awaits!