Gardening is a fabulous way for children to learn languages, particularly in our case English and German. It combines hands-on activities with the natural environment, making the learning process enjoyable and memorable.
If you follow me on Instagram you would have seen various reels over the past couple of years showing our vegetable gardening and using this for language learning, if you have not seen one yet take a look here.
Here’s how you can transform your garden into a vibrant language classroom for your kids.
1. Let’s Start with Vocabulary
As you may know by now I am huge on vocabulary and not so much on grammar at the beginning, because let’s face it without vocabulary we cannot even think about the grammar side of things.
Gardening provides an excellent opportunity to introduce new vocabulary in both English and German. Begin by labeling common gardening tools and plants in both languages. For example:
- Shovel / die Schaufel
- Rake / der Rechen
- Seed / der Samen
- Flower / die Blume
- Tomato / die Tomate
Create simple flashcards with pictures and names in both languages to help children associate the words with the items.
2. Planting Seeds: A Lesson in Verbs
The process of planting seeds is a great way to teach action verbs. Use both English and German terms as you guide your child through the steps:
- To dig / Graben
- To plant / Pflanzen
- To water / Gießen
- To grow / Wachsen
- To harvest / Ernten
For example, you can say, “Let’s dig a hole for the seed. Lass uns ein Loch für den Samen graben.” This method reinforces language learning through repetitive and practical usage.
3. Describing Plants and Growth
As your garden grows, so does the opportunity to expand your child’s descriptive vocabulary. Encourage them to describe what they see using both English and German adjectives:
- Tall / Groß
- Green / Grün
- Blooming / Blühende
- Small / Klein
You can ask questions like, “What do you see?” and help them answer in both languages: “I see a tall sunflower. “Ich sehe eine große Sonnenblume.”
4. Interactive Garden Journals
Keeping a garden journal can be a wonderful way for older children to practise writing and language skills.
Encourage your child to document their gardening activities, observations, and plant growth in both English and German. They can write sentences like, “Today we planted carrots. Heute haben wir Karotten gepflanzt.”
Illustrating the journal with drawings of plants and labelling them in both languages adds a visual learning element.
5. Nature-Based Storytelling
Gardens can be a magical backdrop for storytelling. Create simple stories about the plants and animals you encounter in the garden, using both languages. For example, a story about a little bee (Biene) that helps flowers bloom. This exercise makes language learning contextual and engaging.
6. Songs and Rhymes
Music and rhymes can be extremely powerful for language learning. Sing gardening-themed songs in both languages. For instance, “Incy Wincy Spider” can be paired with the German version, “Die Klitzekleine Spinne.” You can also create simple rhymes about gardening activities.
7. Interactive Learning Games
Turn gardening tasks into fun language games. For example, a scavenger hunt where children must find and name different plants and tools in English and German.
Another idea is a matching game with flashcards where they match the tool or plant with its name in both languages.
8. Cooking with Garden Produce
Extend the learning experience into the kitchen by using your own home grown garden produce to cook simple dishes. Use bilingual recipes as a guide or write your own.
For example, making a salad with “Tomaten” and “Gurken” (cucumbers) allows for practical language usage.
For older children you can discuss the ingredients and steps in both languages.
9. Seasonal Learning
Gardens change with the seasons, providing new vocabulary and learning opportunities.
Discuss seasonal changes and the corresponding gardening activities in both languages. For example, in spring (Frühling), you plant seeds (Samen pflanzen), and in autumn (Herbst), you harvest (zu ernten) crops.
10. Encouraging Curiosity and Questions
Foster a curious mindset by encouraging your child to ask questions about the garden and its inhabitants, this can lead to new vocabulary with regards to insects etc.. Respond in both languages, helping them form questions and answers.
Conclusion
Gardening is such a versatile and enriching activity that can be used to enhance language learning for children.
By incorporating both English and German into gardening tasks, you create a dynamic, hands-on learning environment. This approach not only builds vocabulary and language skills but also instills a love for nature, which you know I love!
If you are looking for some bilingual activities related to nature or even a bilingual book all related to activities within nature then take a look at my resources page.
Happy gardening and happy language learning!
