Teaching Children To Garden – Garden Projects That Your Kids Can Help With:

Sparking a child’s imagination is an awesome adventure that every parent should strive to accomplish. One way to get children involved in activities and chores around thegarden is to allow them to help with “adult” tasks. This is also one of the ways that parents can teach children some of the old world skills that will benefit them for the rest of their lives. In the following paragraphs, I am going to give the step by step directions needed to make a raised gardenbed. This project is child-friendly, and I encourage adults to allow children to help.

Building A Raised Garden Bed:

This is a great project for children of all ages, even the young ones. It seems like that would not be true, but this project can be adapted so that its safe, and easy for children to help. Building a raised garden bed is simply building either a square or a rectangle, which is a basic frame. There are kits available, but I prefer an even simpler approach.

Materials Needed:

Wood:

• One 8-foot redwood 4×4 post.
• Three 8-foot redwood 2×6 boards.
• Sixteen 8 inch threaded Anchor Bolts.
• 32 large galvanized washers.
• 12 bolts for the Anchor Bolts (if they do not come with your bolts.)

Other:

• Two wrenches to fit the Anchor Bolt. ( One may be a socket)

Even if you do not have the tools to cut the wood, etc. this project is still doable because many lumber stores will cut and drill the pieces for you. Just explain to them that you are making a raised garden bed.

Instructions To The Lumber Yard:

• One of the 8-foot redwood 2×6 should be cut in half to make 2 four foot section.
• The 8 Foot 4×4 Redwood Post should be cut into 2 foot sections to make 4 Two Foot Posts.
• Drill the boards and post to accommodate the Anchor bolts. The two 8 foot long 2×6 boards should be drilled with posts 2 inches from the top edge and 2 inches from the bottom edge.
• Drill the short boards with the posts 3 inches from top and bottom, on each end. (center of the board and post)
• Make sure the holes in posts and the boards line up and the anchor bolt will slide through both pieces.

This becomes a children’s helper project because there is no need for sawing, nailing or hammering to complete this project. Children can help place the washers and even guide the anchor bolts through the board and post….[Click Here To Continue Reading]