DIY Programming Ideas: Grow Your Own Food

DIY Programming Ideas: Grow Your Own Food

Unfortunately, many children do not understand where their food comes from, so a program encouraging at-home vegetable gardens would be fun. Even apartment dwellers who do not have their own yards can do herb gardens on their windowsills or small patios. Offer stations where they can grow seeds, make decorated flowerpots, and learn simple recipes to prepare these foods from what they grow.

Crafts

Fairy Carrots in a Jar: How To Grow Fairy Carrots In Jars — Empress of Dirt. A fun and easy way to teach kids how to sow seeds.

Plastic Bottler Planter for Spring Onions: How to Grow Unlimited Supply of Onions in Big Plastic Bottles at Home (balconygardenweb.com). Precut the holes in the bottles, but let the kids add the dirt and onion bulbs.

Hand-painted flower pots: How to Make Hand-Painted Flower Pots — Empress of Dirt.

Vegetable and fruit stamping: Fun Fruit and Vegetable Stamping Projects to Try With Your Kids (wonderfuldiy.com). This simple art technique of using food items to stamp patterns is very low cost.

Fruit and Vegetable building: Veggie Building! How to Encourage Healthy Snacking – HOAWG (handsonaswegrow.com). Use toothpicks to make various shapes and structures using cut up fruit and vegetables.

Garden Stakes: Free Printable Garden Stakes Markers for Fruit and Vegetables (temeculablogs.com). Make these printable garden stakes to mark what plant is where.

Strawberry Playdoh: Fruits Activities & Fun Ideas for Kids – ChildFun. Use Kool-Aid mix to make this fun reuseable playdoh.

Games

Garden Scavenger Hunt: Garden Scavenger Hunt Free Printable – Fantastic Fun & Learning (fantasticfunandlearning.com). This simple hunt is great to help children with their visual/observation skills.

Fruit Matching Game: Fruit Matching Game Printable and Healthy Eating Activities for Kids – Natural Beach Living. This printable matching game is great for younger children.

Vegetable Taste Test: Vegetables Activities & Fun Ideas for Kids – ChildFun. Cut up vegetables into small cubes or slices. Have blindfolded player taste and guess the vegetable. Award prizes based on how many correct guesses.

Fruit Taste Test: Do the same game as the Vegetable Taste Test, but use cut up fruit!

Cooking

Rainbow Pizza: Rainbow Cauliflower Crust Pizza | Gimme Delicious. The children can add the veggies to pre-prepared pizza crusts.

Critter Crudites: Best Critter Crudités Recipe – How to Make Critter Crudités (goodhousekeeping.com). These cute animals will motivate kids to eat vegetables.

Caterpillar Fruit Kabobs: Caterpillar Fruit Kabobs Party Food Idea! (musthavemom.com). This snack is inspired by “The Very Hungry Caterpillar.”

Salsa:  Non Spicy Kid Friendly Salsa – Mind Over Munch. Kids can make this simple salsa recipe.

Penny Peck, San Jose State University iSchool