Kids and Gardening

By Janine Fernandes-Hayden

We've recently moved into a new house and that, coupled with daylight savings and the advent of the growing season, has given our family reason to be outside in our garden. We've transplanted trees from our old place, we've re-established a little daffodil garden, we've planted rhubarb and we've had our first session nettle-picking session.

Do you realize that there kids in many places around the world who have never seen a garden? For instance, there are cities in the States that back-pedaling and trying to restore themselves after decades urban de-naturing. They are now having to put considerable thought and money into recreating natural spaces because they now recognizing the importance of green experiences for kids. As an example, The city of Chicago is trying to reclaim it's motto of being a "city in a Garden" by launching many green initiatives including turning 21 acres of underused city land and abandoned gas stations into 72 community gardens. We are so lucky, living here on Salt Spring Island, to be able to be able to walk out our front doors and give our children a green experience without even having to think twice about it.

Are kids too young to appreciate the joy of gardening? From an education point of view, we know that toddlers are in what is called the sensory-motor stage of development. This means they experience life through their senses - sight, sound, touch, smell, taste - and the garden experience has it all. We also know that kids learn best when lessons are hand-on, relevant and personally meaningful. Gardening is an example of this type of teaching.

Beyond the developmental benefits of gardening for kids, there are so many teachable moments that open themselves up just by digging in the dirt.

Gardening provides us with an opportunity to re-pace our lives. As families, our tendency is towards over-structured lives with hectic schedules - the pace is fast. Coupled with this is our channel-surfing, text-messaging, video game world and in general our NOW society. It all makes us impatient and unable to "stop and smell the flowers". By contrast, in the garden, nothing happens overnight. Watching seeds grow and change, seeing the seasons pass, and tending to tiny seedlings help kids gain patience and gain some breathing space in their lives.

There are other life lessons that gardens provide. Gardens give kids the experience of taking care of living things. It is a way to learn about life cycles and where our food comes from. Gardens foster curiosity and are wonderful places to ask questions and satisfy kids' natural need to know "why". Digging with a trowel, poking holes in the ground, planting seeds, pouring water out of a watering can - all of these activities are not only fun but help to work on your child's fine motor skills. And finally, it's never too early to learn about the scientific method; observation skills and how to design simple experiments.

Here are some tips on how to create a garden with your child:

Give your child his or her own small plot or a well-defined section of the larger family garden to encourage independence and a sense of ownership.
Go to the nursery together to get ideas and choose plants.
Include seedlings as well as success-ready plants to provide your kids with some instant gratification.
Plant vegetables that your child loves to eat, knowing that half the fun is to pick, wash and cook up the harvest.
Maintain the momentum with projects that keep things interesting while plants grow. Have your kids make signs for the garden, construct a scarecrow, make fairy doors, paint stepping-stones or build a twig teepee.
Consider projects that go beyond the harvest. Carving pumpkins at Halloween, using dried out silver dollars as play money, saving sunflower seeds to make birdfeeders, making handmade plantable paper.
Appeal to your toddlers five senses by creating a sensory garden with plants that appeal to sight, sound, touch, taste and smell.

Kids and gardens are a perfect combination and have a lot more in common than you might think. Consider:

No two gardens are the same; no two kids are the same.
Neither kids nor gardens are predictable. Both have their own personalities and both learn and grow in a variety of conditions.
Both kids and gardens are full of anticipation.
Gardening and kids- both require a lot of water - most of it in the form of perspiration.
But worth it because both gardens and kids evoke smiles, and strong emotions - and both can leave you completely awed.
The best place to find God - in a garden or in a child.

Listen to The Beanstalk with Janine Fernandes-Hayden every Friday from 10:00-10:30am on the airwaves at CFSI 107.9 FM or online at CFSI-fm.com.