Gardening with Children

The Importance of Outdoor Time

Earlier this week, we focused on some of the benefits of having a fall garden at your school or in your yard (for those of you who are homeschoolers or remote learning families). We also reviewed the social emotional skills that children practice when they are active participants in gardening.

Whether you are tending a planter with a few annuals, cleaning trash from school plantings, or creating an organic garden that feeds the students, just 15 minutes a day outside has been proven to enhance the well-being of children and adults of all ages.

Need more information or resources? See the sections below for information on gardening with children, with the focus age level noted: P = infants, toddlers and preschool; EC = early childhood (grades K-2) years; E = elementary grades (grades 3-5); A = all ages

Whether your garden is a small planter or a 1/4 acre organic plot, gardening with kids brings benefits to children of all ages. {Image Credit: (c) 2020, Kim M. Bennett}

10 Resources on Gardening with Kids

I recently purchased The School Garden Curriculum, by Kaci Rae Christopher. It has 280 pages of weekly lesson plans and links to online printables, for Grades K-8 (although I plan to adapt the lessons for my older students, too). If you’re not looking into purchasing something, check out these resources, below. Don’t let the homeschool sites distract you – sometimes we “credentialed” educators make teaching and learning unnecessarily complicated. Less really is more when it comes to good learning.

“40 Ideas for Gardening with Kids (That Actually Make it Fun),” The Survival Mom (P, EC, E) ~ Theme gardens that kids will love (who DOESN’T want to grow a faerie garden?)
“A Beginner’s Guide to Gardening with Kids,” Messy Motherhood (P, EC, E) ~ When even an old shoe becomes a fun container for a plant…
“Gardening, ” Simply Charlotte Mason (A) ~ The benefits of gardening with children
“Gardening with Kids: 10 Lessons They Can Learn,” The Everyday Mom Life (P, EC, E) ~ Big ideas that can be reinforced in the garden
“Gardening with Kids: 10 Simple and Amazing Steps,” Good Parenting, Brighter Children (P, EC, E) ~ Gardening as collaborative work
“Gardening with Kids: 35 Playful and Practice Ideas,” Empress of Dirt (P, EC, E) ~ Easy, meaningful lessons complete with materials lists!
“Gardening with Kids: How it Affects Your Child’s Brain, Body and Soul,” PBS.org (A) ~ The many ways that gardening benefits a child of any age
“Gardening with Kids,” Planet Natural (A) ~ Tips for success when gardening with kids
“Gardening with Children,” Community Playthings (EC) ~ Reflections of an outdoor educators on working with preschoolers, where sometimes watering the plants and toileting mean the same thing…
“Gardening with Children,” EarthEasy (P) ~ Great gardening advice, focusing on working with the wee ones