Little hands, big harvests: the joy of gardening with your kids
18 April, 2024 • Par Natacha Langlois
In a world where screens are taking up more and more space and kids often spend far too many hours indoors, introducing them to gardening is like a breath of fresh air, offering a whole host of benefits for their development, their health and even family bonds. So here are a few tips to get your kids started with gardening and create a vegetable garden together that the whole family will enjoy!
The benefits of gardening
Educational and cognitive benefits of gardening
Gardening is nothing short of a real open-air school, where kids can not only learn where fruits and vegetables come from, but also discover the life cycle of plants and gradually develop a scientific mind through hands-on observation of nature.
Motor skills and sensory stimulation
By letting them have fun with water and soil, gardening helps little ones develop their fine motor skills (especially by handling small tools) as well as their gross motor skills (by digging or carrying soil or plants, for example), all while richly stimulating their five senses.
Learning important values
Besides being an undeniable source of relaxation, gardening helps children develop core values such as patience (you have to be patient before you can enjoy the results of your hard work!), perseverance and a sense of responsibility (if the plants don't get enough water, there's a good chance they'll die!).
Gardening, step by step
Planning
Start by planning your garden and choosing the fruits and vegetables you'd like to grow, ideally favouring foods your kids like to eat and that are easy to care for. Lettuce, peas and beans, carrots, radishes and potatoes are all great choices. Also be sure to choose a good spot, one that gets at least six hours of sun a day and is ideally sheltered from animals that could ruin all your hard work!
Download our My Vegetable Garden printable to make planning easier!
Seedlings
To experience the joy of watching a lovingly planted seed slowly grow day by day, start your garden with seedlings that you first grow indoors. To help you figure out the best time to start planting each type of vegetable, check out this detailed calendar prepared by the Montréal Botanical Garden.
Planting day
Following the planting calendar, choose a day (ideally not too hot) to officially start your garden outdoors. Prepare the soil with the kids, taking the time to explain why nutrient-rich soil is so important for plants to grow their best. Finally, plant the seedlings you started earlier!
Garden care
To make garden care easier, take the time to assign chores and responsibilities to your kids (watering, weeding, etc.), so they're truly involved in the project and develop their sense of responsibility. Feel free to add these jobs to your Household Chores Chart or to the Little Chore Chart to help build their independence at the same time.
Harvest time
Sharing the joy of the harvest is undoubtedly the most rewarding part. Take the time to cook together with what you've grown in your garden to celebrate your efforts and savour the fruits of your labour!
Gardening with kids is more than just a hobby; it's an educational adventure, a way to strengthen family bonds and a fun way to instill values of responsibility and respect for nature. Ready, set, plant!
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Put these tips into practice
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