We all have heard that being outside in the fresh air has amazing health benefits. We have also heard that planting flowers can be therapeutic. But did you also know that gardening does have amazing developmental benefits for kids.
Encourages healthy eating
Eating healthy food is vital for brain and body development but it can be hard at times to get kids to eat those fruits and veggies. By having them grow their own string beans, carrots and lettuce, they will have a sense of pride in eating what they have “created.” This, in turn, will emphasize the importance of healthy eating. Kids will soon learn to love eating strawberries and even broccoli.
Teaches responsibility
Gardening is a great way to teach kids about responsibility. Kids learn that they have to take care of their seeds each day in order for them to become healthy plants. To help, one can make a checklist that kids can use to make sure they care for their plant every day.
Highlights the importance of taking care of the environment
When kids do gardening, they realize how important it is to take care of the Earth if they want their garden to grow and produce healthy plants. It creates the perfect opportunity for parents to talk to their kids about concepts such as pollution, pesticides and recycling.
Enhances the ability to plan and organize
For those that garden regularly, you understand that planning and organizing a garden can be time consuming and somewhat of an art form. You have to know what flowers bloom during what time of year, how long it takes a seed to actually turn into a vegetable and when is the best time to plant your seeds. Involving kids in this process helps increase their planning and problem solving skills.
Develops math skills
There are so many teachable math moments when gardening from measuring the soil depth to counting the seeds. One can also embed math lessons into the gardening experience. For example, a child can measure the growth of the plant and then create a graph. Kids can also measure and compare the sizes of the vegetables as well the number of petals on the flowers.
So, gardening is extremely essential for a child’s well being and growth.
