How gardening can be a creative outlet

Gardening At Home
Gardening is one of the Five Enrichments implemented weekly at all MKU schools. Not only does it teach responsibility, but care of the environment, practical life skills, sensory input, life cycles, and much more! But have you thought of gardening as a creative outlet? Here are some ideas for your little gardeners at home to express themselves through what they plant and nurture!

Pizza Patch
By planting basil, oregano, tomatoes, peppers, onions, spinach, mushrooms, garlic, and more, you can have your very own pizza patch in your backyard! You can blend the tomatoes with some of the other vegetables to create a sauce or cut the vegetables up as toppings. This fun way to garden gives your child the opportunity to make a pizza of their own, in any combination they wish. 

Fidget Grows A Pizza Garden by Jodie Fitz is a wonderful corresponding book for this project!

Rainbow Garden
Planting fruits, vegetables, and herbs in all colors and hues of the rainbow can encourage your child to try new foods they may have been resistant to before. Now that they have had the experience of tending to the plants, their curiosity about what each color will taste like will grow.

Reading the book Planting A Rainbow by Lois Ehlert will help with some inspiration for the garden!

Sunflower House
Sunflowers can grow from 6 to 15 feet tall, making them ideal for creating a “house” for children to spend warm summer days in. Two rows of sunflower seeds about 8 feet apart from each other will flourish into a space to use practical life skills, pretend with friends and siblings, and create beautiful art inspired by the surroundings!

Sunflower House by Eve Bunting is a perfect book to read, explaining how a sunflower house starts and ends.