Gardening with children can be so much fun and provides a great deal of benefits to you and your child, far beyond the simple act of spending time together, spring … Benefits, barriers, and resources needed were identified as themes related to starting or improving instructional gardening programs. Whether you are simply planting seeds in a flower pot, tending to a large outdoor garden or something in between like caring for a terrarium, gardening with kids has many benefits. Sensory Exploration Gardening can heighten all senses in children. Gardening can benefit children of all ages as it provides a great opportunity for children to learn, and equips them with critical skills which can help them in other areas of their lives. It includes age-appropriate activities for childcare providers to engage young children in using fresh produce from a production garden for cooking and eating. Here are just a few benefits of gardening with children: Sensory Development. The benefits of gardening with children doesn’t stop with nutrition. The responsibility of nurturing a seed to grow, and the self confidence they gain from achieving something can play an important part in a child’s overall well being. While several barriers exist, resources are available to childcare providers to address these barriers. Gardening is a great activity that can provide your child with a number of different benefits. 2) Impact the environment. They can feel the texture of soil, seeds, flower and petals. Benefits to gardening with preschoolers are consistent with those found in school-age populations. As well as being educational, gardening activities can provide a fun, social environment that can help children to build self confidence. For more studies and an analysis of this research, see Blair (2009), “The child in the garden: An evaluative review of the benefits of school gardening.” Lifelong Benefits Below are some of the main benefits children can experience by helping out in the garden. Here’s 10 of our favorites: Gardening engages all of the senses. Hey, you can even watch things grow on a sunny windowsill, and everyone will have one of those. Outdoor activities and play-based learning allow children to foster creativity and imagination and develop their social and emotional skills. People with disabilities, older people and children can find it especially rewarding to spend time in the garden tending plants and growing their own food. The Benefits of Gardening with Your Children At Little Peoples Place, we’re always looking for fun and engaging ways to boost your child’s development . Now the warmer weather has arrived, what better way to spend your time than enjoying some gardening.