Spring Exercises: Garden Edition

There is so much nature and wonder to experience in a garden.  Here in the KidPT garden, we invite your kids to participate in shoveling the soil, transferring dirt with a wheelbarrow, jumping over the rows of vegetables, imagining they are earthworms tilling the soil, shading the garden as nearby trees, and invading the garden as clever rabbits. 

Shovel the Dirt

1. Have your child stand on a pillow with a pile of cotton balls (or any small item) on the right and an empty bucket to the left
2. Use a small beach shovel or kitchen spatula or tongs and have your child squat to pick up the balls and then transfer them into the bucket one at a time. 
3. Then switch and place the cotton balls on the left and the bucket on the right

Wheelbarrow

Have your child assume the wheelbarrow position by pushing up through their hands on the ground and have a sibling or friend hold them at their knees. The child on the ground will walk forward on their hands while the other child follows them supporting their lower body in the air. Then have them switch roles. If the child’s back is arched (aka the stomach is dipping downwards towards the floor and is lower than the chest and ankles), make it easier by holding them closer to their trunk until they can keep their back straight. Too easy? Hold the child further from the trunk and as close to the ankles as they will tolerate.

Jump Over the Rows of Vegetables

Line up pillows or rolled up towels on the ground and have your child jump over them. Have them name the row of vegetables that they are jumping over as they jump. Switch it up by having them jump sideways and backwards too.

Earth Worm

Start in a standing position and have your child slowly lower their hands down to the ground in front of their feet. Then walk their hands forward as far as they can with their feet planted on the ground. Then walk their feet up towards their hands. Repeat as they squirm their way across the room. 

Tree Pose

Have your child stand on one leg and rest their other leg’s foot on their inner thigh. Once they gain their balance in this position, have them wave their arms in the wind just like a tree. Who can make a tree with the largest branches? Too hard? Instead, have your child place one foot on a step that is in front of them.

Rabbit Under the Fence

Set up the imaginary fence by extending a long piece of tape or string from one kitchen table leg to another ( or any stable surface) at about a foot height off the ground. Then have the kids take time to army crawl under the imaginary fence to the garden. 

What are your family’s favorite garden activities and plants to grow?