You don’t have to be a master gardener to enjoy digging in the dirt and growing things with your kids.
Sunflower House
Growing a sunflower house is an easy and exciting project you can enjoy with your children. Start by marking off a 6’ or 8’ square in a flat, sunny area of your yard where there is little or no grass. Dig a furrow around the edge, leaving an opening for a door. Be sure not to plant in your doorway. Select a variety of seeds, alternate a mammoth variety with a smaller variety that grows about 4 feet tall. The tall ones impress kids by growing taller than they are, and they provide great shade. The shorter ones allow kids to look closely at the flowers. Some people like to get a head start and plant the seeds indoors, then transplant the seedlings. Personally, I have better luck planting straight into the ground, but either way works. Plant sunflowers in two zigzag lines (staggered rows) all the way around, so that the walls will be thick. Lightly water your newly planted seeds and check them every day to be sure the soil is moist.
You can also try a few corn plants in with the sunflowers. Choose the multi-colored Indian popcorn variety for fun. Here is a companion planting secret: The corn drives Carpophilus beetles from the sunflowers, and the sunflowers protect the corn from fall armyworms. For a sweet smelling treat, plant peppermint and spearmint around the inside edges as well. These plants are edible and don’t mind being trampled.
When the sunflower house begins to die, collect a couple of the flowers. Hang them upside down in brown paper bags to save the seeds. Roast some for the family, add some to your bird feeders, and save some for next year.
This is a summer-long project—it will take about two months for your house to grow. But when it’s finished, it will be a delight to play in (your house will be perfect for tea parties, stories and pirate forts) and it will be an accomplishment for the whole family.
SIDEBAR -- Read the Sunflower House by Eve Bunting. (There’s a book cover on Amazon)

Your Own Pumpkin Patch

For October Jack-O-Lanterns, you need to start in May. You’ll need a sunny spot in the yard and plenty of space. After your pumpkin seedlings start to grow, be careful not to overwater them; they don’t like damp soil. The hardest part is usually picking from the many choices of pumpkins: Baby Boo, Munchkin, Spooktacular, Big Max, Cinderella, Lumina, Atlantic Giant ... and on and on. Be sure to look at the amount of space you have, compared to the size of pumpkins you want. If you have very little space, you can still grow pumpkins. The mini-pumpkins will grow up the side of a fence or a piece of lattice. You’ll end up with TONS of baby pumpkins that your kids can draw faces on and use to decorate your house. There are also huge varieties weighing in at 500 pounds! The Harvest Festival in Auburn has a contest each year for the largest pumpkin, so if you have the space, give it a go!