Growing a garden is something I look forward to each summer. Every morning, before even bothering with "real" clothes and lacing up shoes, we get the grass in between our toes and go check on the garden. If it needs to be watered, Miss H fills up her little green watering can and empties it on the dirt while I use the hose. E helps hunt for green beans hidden in the messy clumps of leaves, and the Littlest wobbles unsteadily with his hands on the planter box, grabbing fistfuls of dirt. We prune, spray, we guide wayward branches to the right place. I love these special mornings with my little ones, who soon will most likely decide that helping is not as fun as it once was.
There are also so many lessons to be learned from a growing garden: the habit of gently caring for something; the habit of being consistent; understanding what plants need to grow; a life cycle.
These things happen naturally. I don't need to guide and teach, because they are constantly learning through observing and running their hands through the earth. Miss H must have the same happy memories that I do from our summers spent gardening, because she has often requested and sought out gardening-related books. These have become some of our favorites. I've linked to my Amazon affiliate store to share these great books with you. You can read more about affiliate links in my policies.
Living Books about Gardens
You can see the entire list through my Amazon Shop, but I've written about a few of our favorites!
Planting a Rainbow
I have so many happy memories of this book! It is such a sweet way to discuss colors with preschoolers, and it has even inspired Miss H to plant- and eat- colorful vegetables!
A Seed Is Sleepy
All of Diane Aston's books are beautifully written and illustrated. For a young child, this might be a little too much to read in one sitting, but a few pages at a time will help to plant some seeds of ideas! The lyrical language describes the life of a seed. Don't miss the author's other books in this series.
Wildflowers, Blooms & Blossoms (Take Along Guides)
Take-Along Guides are great for little nature explorers! We love that these are factual without being overwhelming.
Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt
Kate Messner is one of our favorite authors! Her books don't dumb things down for children, but are simple enough for even the tiniest listener. There are very few words in her Up...Down... books, but they manage to be inspiring nevertheless!
Plant the Tiny Seed
We used this one for a Tinkergarten class last spring. It goes through the process of planting seeds in way that encourages children to participate and move. It's definitely engaging, and our class had fun planting zinnia seeds, the same seeds featured in the book!
To see the rest of the list, go to my Amazon Store!
I love this! I’m a big fan of Charlotte Mason and tried to use many of her ideas in our homeschool. My kids are grown now, but we enjoyed many Charlotte Mason inspired books and activities. I’m your neighbor at #SittingAmongFriends.
That is great! I would love to learn more from you 🙂 I’ll check out #SittingAmongFriends. Thanks!