Spark an interest in nature and homegrown, fresh and healthy foods for your little ones by growing your own plants and mini-garden indoors. Most fruits and vegetables in your pantry can provide an educational and fun experiment for young children. It’s easy to green the thumbs of your toddlers — if they can hold a seed in their hand and can poke a hole in dirt, help them plant the seed and watch it grow together! Follow our easy guide to get your indoor garden growing after the jump!

Bell pepper seeds, sunflower seeds, dry peas and beans are easy to start and fast growing. Picking plants that have fast germination will keep a toddler interested in their growing progress. Choose a room  in your home with good lighting and a sunny window sill. Children love to see things as they happen and much of the growing action happens and stays hidden in the soil. So, to start out, grow plants without soil to enable kids to see the changes, right before their eyes.

Tools You Will Need:

• Jar
• Paper towel
• Water
• Seeds

1. Scrunch a paper towel into an old jar. Try to involve your tot in as many ways as you can. For example, allow them to help on the hunt for the perfect jar in the cupboard.

2. Sprinkle 5 seeds, such as kidney beans into the jar. Move them into the folds closest to the sides of the jar so they are in plain view for little eyes to see.

3. Water enough to soak the paper towel and leave a small puddle at the bottom of the jar. If your child over-waters, gently pour out the excess water. Too much water may rot your seeds. Allow kids to use their sippy cup or a small cup to water the plant. A sippy cup can be the perfect watering can. Time watering to when the paper towel has dried out and needs to be moistened again.

4. Place your growing plant in a good sunny spot. Sometimes a bathroom window is ideal, because the steam from the shower and the sunlight create a plant-friendly atmosphere.

Allow your tot to take a few pictures every day of their plants. In the end, together you can create a slideshow of the progress. Drawing pictures and telling stories about the growing plants are ways to extend the life of your growing lesson.

If the plants aren’t thriving, together think of reasons why it did not work out and try again. Remind your disappointed little one that in order to succeed, we all must have failures to point us in the right direction.