Children enjoy being in the garden. They are fascinated by worms and bugs and enjoy digging in the dirt and making mud pies. Children’s interest in the outdoors and their natural curiosity can be encouraged by asking for their help with the gardening and by planting seeds that mature quickly.
Gardening gives the child a sense of responsibility and achievement, as well as being a valuable learning experience. It is something that can be enjoyed by all the family, fits in with the National Curriculum, and aids personal development ie. being led by example, confidence building; the child can be congratulated on e.g. raked soil well, planted seeds well spaced out, for taking responsibility for watering etc.
Children’s gardening also links into current concerns about children leading sedentary lifestyles and them being generally ignorant about nature and where things come from. It offers a healthy activity - being outdoors, possibly eating their own produce, widens their understanding of the world and helps them to obtain essential knowledge to pass on to future generations.
Gardening is an activity that makes learning FUN.
We have comprised some useful children's gardening resource pages to help with the child's first venture into gardening - see the navigation bar to the left.
