Butler Catholic School students participate in an activity centered around seeds and gardening. Submitted photo

It’s that time of year when seed catalogs arrive in the mail. You immediately peruse each catalog and start daydreaming about your summer garden. Flipping through the pages, you can almost see yourself planting seeds, mentally mapping out your perfect garden. Who better to share this daydreaming activity with than young gardeners?

Garden daydreaming isn’t just for adults; it’s an activity children of all ages can enjoy. The beauty is that it is flexible, requires minimal supplies and works with every age group. This simple, fun and educational activity gets children excited about gardening, a win-win activity for both adults and youth.

For a hands-on version of this activity, all you need is one or two seed catalogs and a few seed packets. For younger children, like kindergartners, allow them to investigate the seed packets. Pair them with a partner to talk about what plants they want to grow. In small groups of three or four, gather them around a piece of paper to draw out their garden. As they create, listen to them chat excitedly about their garden choices, such as imagining rows of blue Jarrahdale pumpkins (Cucurbita maxima ‘Jarrahdale’) or Berkeley tie-dye tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum ‘Berkeley’). This activity creates a prime opportunity to talk about how much space plants need to grow.

For school-age children, have them cut out pictures from seed catalogs to design their gardens, which introduces more complex topics like sunlight requirements, vertical growing and succession planting. This activity sparks curiosity, and as they discover new vegetables their gardens expand with these possibilities.

Garden daydreaming is low-maintenance, educational and offers exciting opportunities to teach children about the wonders of growing plants while they eagerly wait for warm weather. As we leave winter behind, grab your children along with a seed catalog and seed packets. Start dreaming about this year’s garden adventure.

Penn State Extension offers an array of education materials and resources for gardening with children: extension.psu.edu/programs/betterkidcare/lessons/fresh-harvest; extension.psu.edu/programs/master-gardener/youth-programming/growing-gardeners; extension.psu.edu/programs/betterkidcare/early-care/tip-pages/all/gardening.

If you have questions about gardening activities with children, contact the Penn State Extension Master Gardeners of Butler County’s Garden Hotline at 724-287-4761, ext. 7, or email the Master Gardeners at butlermg@psu.edu.

RaeLynn Harrison is a Penn State Extension Master Gardner.

RaeLynn Harrison holds a snake during a class to become a Pennsylvania Master Naturalist. Submitted photo