Gardening With Children
As spring blooms outside, it’s a perfect time to introduce your children to gardening. Here are a few of the many reasons why kids should try gardening:
1. Gardening encourages children to eat healthy! They’re much more likely to eat fruits and vegetables that they’ve grown themselves.
2. Gardening provides a valuable life skill by teaching children how to provide for themselves.
3. Gardening is a great opportunity to get your children off their screens and devices, and instead spend time outdoors.
4. Gardening creates space for family time and allows you to connect and chat with your children while working together.
5. Gardening provides children with exercise as they dig, pull, and build. They might not even realize that they’re engaging in physical activity.
6. Gardening is an excellent educational tool. Children can learn about photosynthesis, soil composition, and more. You can add math practice by measuring weekly plant growth or counting how many flowers are blooming.
7. Gardening exposes children to problem-solving. Most gardens experience issues and uncertainties in the beginning stages, and kids learn how to respond and think of solutions.
8. Gardening allows children to take ownership of a project. It requires responsibility and encourages a sense of pride and accomplishment when children are able to provide food for family and friends.
This week, BBT provided soil and vegetable seeds for families assisted by the Lethbridge Food Bank. We included instructions for easy seed germination using a paper towel. If you’d like to try that method, the instructions are here.
We encourage you to head outside, get your hands dirty, and invest in growing something with your kids!
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