DIY Flower planters: the perfect project for gardening with your toddler

How to make your own planters with your child. Planting potted flowers is a great sensory project with instant gratification. Your toddler will love this first gardening project.

My toddler is in the middle of anything I do these days, which is wonderful and exhausting. She loves to carry her own plate, although it sometimes spills. She loves hugging her baby sister, even though she sometimes responds with a scream.  I want to include her, but I'm struggling to keep up with the all out of her enthusiasm.

Making these planters together was a great way to reconnect with my toddler. She loved being included, and we had instant gratification of beautiful flowers for our front step.

How to make your own flower planters: the perfect project for gardening with your toddler.

Materials for planting flowers with your toddler

Flowers 

Pots. If you are planting out doors, use pots with holes

Potting soil

Watering can

Toddler

Holes in the bottom of the pot ensure proper drainage for out door pots.

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Gardening with your toddler

1.Assemble your materials. This is especially important when you're working with a toddler, because projects can quickly go in an unexpected direction while you run inside for a forgotten item.

2. Let your toddler put dirt in the flower pot. Start by filling your pot half way with potting  soil. My toddler handled this step with relish.

Playing with dirt is wonderful sensory input.

3.  Help your toddler arrange the flowers on top of the dirt. I made sure the roots were handled gently, but she enjoyed helping with the decisions.  Handling the flowers was a great way for her to practice touching gently, a skill that will come in handy with her baby sister.

4. Let your child add more dirt to fill the pot.

5.Give your child the means to water gently.  For the first three days, check on your flowers and be sure to keep them watered. After that, water thoroughly every few days. More water less often encourages the roots to grow. 

Poke holes in the cap of a jug for an easy water can.

We get regular rain here so we didn't need to water after the first few days. Our flowers grew beautifully--at least until a critter made lunch of the roots. So, I guess we get to do this project again. I'm sure my little helper will be eager to get started!

More flowers and gardening

3 Steps to a kid friendly garden

Toddler mark making project with flowers



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