Preschool Gardening Lesson Plans
Looking for fun ways to integrate science, math, and language arts into your preschool curriculum? Explore our preschool gardening lesson plans this spring! Gardening provides a natural laboratory for preschoolers to explore the vibrant colors of nature, connect with the environment, and discover the wonders of plant life.
This spring, cultivate a love of nature and hands-on learning with your preschoolers. Dig into our FREE spring gardening lesson plans and watch your little ones blossom!
Growing a garden is more than just planting seeds; it’s a world of new discoveries for young learners.
Our preschool gardening lesson plans will provide inspiration, activity ideas, and practical tips to help you create a playful and educational, gardening theme for your preschoolers.
While getting a little dirty is definitely part of the fun, gardening also offers a wealth of other benefits, enriching early childhood learning and providing fun hands-on activities. Our preschoolers need to get dirty sometimes!
Our preschool gardening lesson plans are a part of our Learn at Home Lesson Plans Collection. We have bundled our weekly lesson plan themes together for you, if you are interested in having lots of themed lesson plans ready-to-go! They are perfect for both homeschooling families and for classroom use.
Benefits of Teaching a Gardening Theme in Preschool
Introducing preschoolers to the wonders of gardening at an early age provides a fertile ground for growth—not just for plants, but for the children themselves. Gardening is great for development of fine motor skills and allows preschoolers to explore the wonders of life cycles and plant growth.
Here are some benefits to a gardening theme in preschool:
- Hands-On Learning: Preschoolers love sensory exploration. Digging in soil, planting seeds, and watering plants offer experiences that allow children to learn through direct interaction with their environment.
- Promotes Responsibility: Gardening teaches children to care for plants and see the results of their actions, while also inspiring a love of nature. These small, consistent tasks help children learn that they can make a difference in the world around us.
- Boosts Science Skills: Gardening naturally integrates STEM learning, helping children develop observation, measurement, graphing, and sorting skills.
- Encourages Healthy Eating: Growing fruits and vegetables supports an appreciation for fresh, healthy foods and makes trying new foods exciting. Children are likelier to taste and enjoy foods they have grown and cared for.
- Builds Patience and Observational Skills: Watching plants grow teaches preschoolers to be patient and observe gradual environmental changes.
Possible Topics to Include in Your Gardening Lesson Plans
Gardening is not just all about planting. From life cycles to healthy eating and so much more, there are many topics to explore!
Here are some possible topics you can include in your gardening lesson plan that can help to boost your toddler/s early knowledge about gardening and plants:
Plant Life Cycles
- The best way for preschoolers to learn about plant life cycles is to give them the opportunity to plant their own gardens/potted plants and watch and observe as they grow! Watching seeds sprout and transform into plants is an exciting way to learn first-hand about the beauty and complexity of nature.
Parts of a Plant
- Identify roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and seeds with fun labeling activities. Simple crafts like assembling plant diagrams can make learning even more hands-on and engaging.
Healthy Eating
- Connect gardening to nutrition by discussing how fruits and veggies grow and why they benefit us.
- Fruit and vegetable sorting activities are a fun and developmentally appropriate way to teach about healthy eating.
- Taste-testing fruits and vegetables and graphing favorites is a fun way to make math a real-life experience.
Garden Animals and Insects
- Highlight the roles of bees, butterflies, and other pollinators in maintaining a healthy garden. Observing these creatures in action can capture curiosity about ecosystems.
Different Types of Plants
- Compare and contrast flowers, fruits, vegetables, and trees to show your preschoolers that there are a wide variety of things that grow.
Seasons and Gardening
- Discuss how different seasons affect planting, growth, and harvesting. This helps children connect the gardening process to other natural cycles.
Garden Tools
- Teach the names and uses of gardening tools like trowels, watering cans, and rakes. Allowing children to handle these tools safely adds excitement and builds skills.
Gardening Activity Ideas for Preschoolers
Our FREE preschool gardening lesson plans are full of fun activities that you and your little ones will enjoy together! They are easy to set up and will ensure some hands-on learning and fun. We hope our lesson plans will help you embrace all that a gardening theme has to offer!
Here are some general activities that you can also include in your gardening theme:
Planting Seeds – Let children pot their seeds and watch them grow. This is a MUST during any gardening unit of study! Your little gardeners will LOVE it!
Sorting and Categorizing – Sort fruits, vegetables, and flowers using real objects or pictures. This activity supports early math skills like grouping and pattern recognition.
Garden-Themed Printable Activities– Choose from a wide-variety of hands-on activities that are sure to bring a garden full of fun to your classroom! From sorting activities to sensory play, your preschoolers will love learning about all things plants and gardening.
Veggie Garden Playdough Math Activity– Invite your preschoolers to play with playdough and some fun veggie counters, all while practicing important math skills!
Healthy Eating Activities for Preschoolers– Of course, healthy eating ties in naturally to a garden theme! You can get preschoolers excited about food and nutrition by providing fun, hands-on activities that teach about a variety of foods and how they help fuel our bodies.
Bug Investigations & Activities– Use magnifying glasses to observe insects in the garden up close. Also, be sure to check out our bugs and butterflies lesson plans that are just crawling with awesome bug-themed activities!
Vegetable-Stamping Process Art– This is an easy and fun art activity that requires just a few materials, including some vegetables, of course! Your preschoolers will get to make their own creations by using the veggies as their “stampers”.
Garden-Themed Crafts – Fun garden-themed craft activities let your preschoolers express their creativity while learning about plants. Check out this wide variety of fun crafts that are sure to delight your preschoolers!
Scavenger Hunt – Search for specific plants, tools, or insects in the garden (or you can have them hidden in your classroom or playground area). This hands-on activity encourages observation skills and also happens to be super fun!
Preschool Gardening Journal– Have children record observations about their plants in this free gardening journal printable for preschoolers. This is a great way for preschoolers to learn about keeping track of data as part of science activities.
Garden Storytime – Read books like The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle or Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert to bring literacy to life during your garden theme. T
Sample Weekly Schedule for Gardening Lesson Plans
This is a sample schedule and can be adapted to fit your specific needs and the children’s interests.
- Monday: Introduction to Gardening: Introduce the concept of gardening and what it means to grow plants. Read a related storybook about plants or gardens. Discuss what plants need to grow (sun, water, soil).
- Tuesday: Exploring Plant Parts: Explore the different parts of a plant (roots, stem, leaves, flowers) and their functions. Use real plants or diagrams for observation. Model planting seeds in a clear cup and keep them out to observe root growth.
- Wednesday: Planting Seeds/Seed Starting: Focus on the process of planting seeds. Discuss what seeds need to germinate. Give your preschoolers an opportunity to plant their own seeds so they can watch them grow.
- Thursday: Caring for Our Plants: Learn about caring for plants, including watering, providing sunlight, and weeding. Set up a watering schedule and involve children in caring for the newly planted seeds.
- Friday: Review and Garden Fun: Recap the week’s lessons with songs, games, and an interactive review of what was learned. Assure your preschoolers that the gardening fun will continue as you observe the plants’ growth in the days (and possibly weeks) to come.
Frequently Asked Questions About Preschool Gardening Lesson Plans
Have questions about preschool gardening lesson plans? Here are some frequently asked questions.
Why is gardening a good theme for preschool lesson plans?
Gardening offers great benefits for young children. It promotes hands-on learning, teaches responsibility as children care for their plants, and helps them understand basic science and nature concepts through practical, real-world experiences.
What supplies do I need for preschool gardening activities?
To get started, gather items like small pots or containers, various types of seeds, potting soil, child-safe gardening tools (like trowels and hand rakes), watering cans or spray bottles, and observation journals or notebooks for tracking plant growth over time.
Can gardening lessons be done indoors?
Absolutely! Even without an outdoor garden, you can bring the wonders of nature indoors. Some indoor gardening options include growing small plants in pots, creating a windowsill herb garden, planting (fast-growing) grass in plastic cups, or even using a hydroponics kit.
How long does it take to see results in gardening activities?
One of the exciting aspects of gardening for preschoolers is seeing quick results. Some seeds, like beans, radishes, or sprouts, germinate within a few days, making them perfect for short-term activities and keeping children engaged.
What books can I include in my gardening lesson plans?
There are many wonderful children’s books about gardening! Some recommended titles include The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss, Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt by Kate Messner, and Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots by Sharon Lovejoy. It’s always fun and important to include literacy in your weekly preschool themes!
How do I make gardening safe for preschoolers?
Safety is paramount when gardening with young children. Always use child-safe tools, provide close supervision during all activities, avoid sharp objects or tools, and teach children about the safe handling of plants, soil, and any other materials used.
Preschool gardening lesson plans bring fun, learning, and life skills together. No matter if you have a sprawling field or a small indoor space, gardening is adaptable for any setting.
Try these activities to inspire curiosity, creativity, and a lifelong love for nature in your preschoolers. We are fairly certain that your preschoolers will be excited to dig in and get their hands dirty, while learning about the wonderful world of gardening!
I’m Sarah, an educator turned stay-at-home-mama of five! I’m the owner and creator of Stay At Home Educator, a website about intentional teaching and purposeful learning in the early childhood years. I’ve taught a range of levels, from preschool to college and a little bit of everything in between. Right now my focus is teaching my children and running a preschool from my home. Credentials include: Bachelors in Art, Masters in Curriculum and Instruction.