Kids will be out of school soon—some already are—and many parents are wondering how to spend this long stretch of summer! We’ve got one idea: get your kids in the garden. At Frame it All, we believe that gardening is for all ages, and it’s a wonderful pastime to introduce to your children. Here are a few benefits of allowing your children to help you in the garden:
1) Educational. Gardening integrates several disciplines: science, health/nutrition, physical fitness, art, math, and more. Planting a garden with your children can provide an educational experience that lasts all summer. Check out this website for ideas on how to create an educational theme and projects for your garden.
2) Physical. Let’s face it: kids need exercise. Today’s children spend so much time in front of TV and computer screens that childhood obesity is becoming a near-epidemic. Gardening is a great way to get that exercise.
3) Nutritional. Looking for a way to educate your children about healthy food choices, too? Plant a raised vegetable garden. When kids are growing their own food, they’ll start to see how fun it is to “pick their snack” out of a bed of cucumbers or green beans.
4) Emotional. The repetitive nature and working by hand that makes gardening so soothing for adults can be great for kids, too! And think of all the good talks you can have with your child as you work side by side, putting up a planter trellis, mending vegetable garden fencing, or picking ripened tomatoes.
And aside from that, it’s just plain fun to garden with your kids! Here are some tips to make gardening with your kids a great experience this summer:
1) Segment the garden. If you’re an avid gardener, you may not want kids’ “help” to hinder your prize roses, heirloom tomatoes, or delicate tropicals. So let your kids know right away which part of the garden belongs to them. Place your beauties behind garden fencing, then make colorful signs to mark out their part of the garden. Set up a raised flower bed so they can choose their own seeds or plants to nurture. Or choose a raised vegetable bed and add a vertical plant growing system or vegetable trellis (our Veggie Walls are perfect for this and they’re on sale now!) so they can grow their own salad. And your prize roses will stay pretty.
2) Make it fun! Use garden edging or landscape borders to make cool shapes. Plant a garden around your children’s sandbox so they see it as play. Choose plants by favorite color or funny names. Be creative, and allow your kids to do the same.
3) If you don’t know where to start, or what your kids would be capable of or interested in at their ages, Check out the Parent’s Primer on kidsgardening.org. This website, geared to helping kids learn through gardening, is chock-full of guidance so you can find age-appropriate gardening plans and tasks for your children.
We hope these tips will help you get started on a great summer of gardening with your children. Have patience, relax, and let them get their hands dirty. Gardening is for all ages!
