Sprouting with Your Sprouts — Guest Blog via Daniel Chabert

Spring is always a delightful cyclone with whispers of rain and teasing sunshine, bright-colored flowers, and playful baby animals. Spring is also the season our project goals turn to gardening. Getting new plants in the ground and teaching the kids how to tend them is an invaluable teaching tool. Whether you have a huge yard, a few small flower beds or even just an upstairs patio, you have a terrific opportunity to encourage your children with some wonderful life lessons, and they probably will not even realize it. What do kids get from gardening?

Caring for This Rock We Live On

Encouraging children to care for the planet is an investment in their future and ours. If they develop a love of gardening at an early age, kids learn an appreciation for nature in general. They will develop new skills identifying plants, birds, and insects discovered while spending time outside and digging in the dirt. Kids will also learn the difference between garden plants and weeds, and make friends with ladybugs and snails. Gardening tickles all the senses with seeing the colorful blossoms and leaves, hearing songbirds or blue jays overhead, smelling the fresh soil and ripening vegetables, and touching the tools or playing in the dirt. Then there is always the taste of their garden’s rewards.

Growing Good Health

Another huge benefit of gardening is getting kids away from the keyboards for a while and out into the fresh air. You will find lots to discover while they get some good sunshine on their skin. Physical activity keeps young bodies healthy and in good shape, building muscles and strengthening their heart and lungs. Playing in the dirt can strengthen their immune system and general health. Gardening helps reduce stress and anxiety while improving mood. The kids will also be developing fine motor skills, and of course, keeping parents company having conversations or playing games while you work together.

Learning While They Grow

The garden has got to be the most fun classroom ever. Kids learn lots of lessons without even realizing it. They learn about the science of how plants grow and which ones are beneficial for food. Taking care of the plants teaches them responsibility as they plan a schedule for care and daily follow up with water and weeding. Their self-confidence will improve by helping the plants mature and then enjoying the food produced, which can also get them started appreciating good nutrition. They can exercise creativity in what they grow, and enjoy working together as a team to make the garden a success.

Don’t Forget to Keep Them Safe

Always keep safety in mind when gardening with the kids. Of course, some of this depends on the age of the children but there are a few things to remember. Since they will probably be spending a few hours in the sunshine, keep them safe from getting burned with sun block and do not forget a shady spot to rest in as well as plenty to drink. Avoid using chemicals if possible, and keep sprays and fertilizers out of reach. If you have small children, make sure water buckets are monitored and gates are kept secure so they will not wander off. Also, make sure you safely store equipment and tools.

Gardening can be a delightfully educational, healthy activity for the whole family. Enjoy watching your children as they learn to appreciate the Earth and improve their health with physical activity in the fresh air. They can learn some valuable lessons out there in the dirt, and you can cherish the quality time while you grow some sprouts with your little sprouts.

AUTHOR’S BIO: DANIEL CHABERT

Hiking addict and an entrepreneur. Performing at the sweet spot between minimalism and purpose to develop visual solutions that inform and persuade. I prefer clear logic. He loves to write reviews on BornCute, GearWeAre, ThatSweetGift and ContractorCulture.