Grow Life Skills by Gardening (2024)

Spring is full of new life – from the colorful plants we see popping up on the side of the road to the fresh fruits and vegetables we find at our local farmer’s market, the world around us is getting back its lost color. While it certainly has its share of precipitation, this season is guiding us into brighter days ahead and teaching us that, like plants, we need both sunny and rainy days to grow into the best versions of ourselves! Why not take this time to teach your child valuable life skills by planting and caring for a garden of your own?

Building Character by Tending to a Garden

While helping a seed or seedling grow is not easy, the rewards often outweigh the work we put in. By tending to a garden with your child, you are not only helping them bring valuable science concepts to life but also teaching them responsibility, growing their confidence and giving them opportunities to practice patience and overcome setbacks.

From planting the seed and watering the seedling to ensuring the plant gets enough sun and even protecting your garden from potentially harmful weather or plant-damaging pests, a gardener is responsible for the health and wellness of their garden! Depending on the types of fruits, flowers or vegetables you choose, growing a successful garden can require a lot of attention and provide great lessons in low-risk responsibility for children.

An article from PBS explains that gardening can provide time for meaningful family connection, give kids a sense of purpose, foster mindfulness and even boost self-esteem! When children harvest what they have worked so hard to grow, it can elevate their confidence and inspire them to continue pouring love and time into their interests.

While growth may show up little by little, day by day, remind your child what their hard work and patience will lead to – a beautiful bouquet to proudly display or homegrown snacks to share with family and friends! When they see the results of the weeks spent caring for their plants, they’ll begin to understand the common saying “good things take time.”

In addition to waiting for plants to grow, young gardeners must be willing to adapt when facing challenges. Is a neighborhood bunny snacking on your harvest, or is your area experiencing a stretch of time without rain? Help your child brainstorm ways to tackle these common gardening problems and encourage them to keep trying even if their first attempt is not a success.

Bringing Essential Skills to Life

Are you ready to help your child build some of these awesome life skills but aren’t sure where to start? Check out our gardening STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) activities or grab an inspiring book to get you in the right frame of mind.

Create Coffee Compost

Composting coffee grounds can help reduce waste by repurposing something that would typically end up in a landfill and giving it another useful life – as plant fertilizer that will help your harvest grow larger and stronger! This STEM activity will help you craft your very own compost pile.

Carve Out Space to Grow

Finding the space and selecting a variety of plants that will grow effectively in your area can feel like a daunting task. Start small by trying out your green thumb with this STEM activity that explains how to build a mini greenhouse and grow a small bean or pea plant using common household items.

Do Your Research

Take some time to gauge your child’s interest in gardening and build up their knowledge before you get to work. One book you may want to explore is “We Are the Gardeners” by Joanna Gaines. This story brings you into the Gaines family’s gardening journey by explaining the basic steps to growing plants, and encouraging readers to persist despite obstacles and learn from mistakes.

Keep Learning and Growing!

Check out our blog for more ways to bring STEM learning to life for your child.

Grow Life Skills by Gardening (2024)

FAQs

Grow Life Skills by Gardening? ›

Through gardening, kids learn to appreciate the natural world and the creatures that live in it. They also learn how to care for plants and how to create a healthy ecosystem. In other words, gardening helps instill a sense of respect for nature in kids.

Why is gardening a life skill? ›

Through gardening, kids learn to appreciate the natural world and the creatures that live in it. They also learn how to care for plants and how to create a healthy ecosystem. In other words, gardening helps instill a sense of respect for nature in kids.

How gardening can extend your life? ›

Gardening is good for you. Studies show it is real exercise, with benefits that may include everything from stronger hands to healthier hearts and longer lives. One Swedish study found lower rates of stroke, heart attack and early death among older gardeners, regardless of their other exercise habits.

Would gardening be a lifestyle activity? ›

Yes, indeed. Gardening is similar to other moderate to strenuous forms of exercise like walking and bicycling.

How does gardening help with social skills? ›

Gardening requires clear communication and negotiation skills. Students need to decide which plants to grow, divide tasks, and negotiate solutions when issues arise. This active problem-solving environment encourages them to express their thoughts effectively and listen to others, enhancing their communication skills.

How does gardening benefit you? ›

Working in the garden restores dexterity and strength, and the aerobic exercise that is involved can easily use the same number of calories as might be expended in a gym. Digging, raking and mowing are particularly calorie intense;43 there is a gym outside many a window.

Is gardening a skill or talent? ›

Yes, you read that right – gardening can teach you valuable skills that are highly applicable to your professional life. In this article, we'll explore how the simple act of tending to plants can cultivate a range of abilities that can help you thrive in the workplace.

What happens to your brain when you garden? ›

Gardening also increases the production of brain derived neurotrophic factors, or BDNF's. This is essentially fertilizer for the brain, and helps grow new neural cells as well as maintaining the neural pathways you already have.

Why does gardening make me feel alive? ›

Getting your hands dirty in the garden can increase your serotonin levels – contact with soil and a specific soil bacteria, Mycobacterium vaccae, triggers the release of serotonin in our brain according to research. Serotonin is a happy chemical, a natural anti-depressant and strengthens the immune system.

Why is gardening so therapeutic? ›

It's been shown to lighten mood and lower levels of stress and anxiety. It's very gratifying to plant, tend, harvest and share your own food. Routines provide structure to our day and are linked to improved mental health. Gardening routines, like watering and weeding, can create a soothing rhythm to ease stress.

Is gardening better exercise than walking? ›

Gardening engages all the major muscle groups, such as the arms, legs, shoulders, back and abdomen, Mandal said. The activity also improves mobility, helps build endurance, and is a comparable workout to walking or Pilates. All the necessary digging, planting, mowing, raking and weeding torches calories, too.

Is gardening a hobby or passion? ›

Most people concentrate on gardening as a hobby and do it daily without realizing it also offers an exercise routine. Regular raking, digging and weeding offer regular exercise to your muscles. With regular exercise, you can reduce mental health issues like depression and anxiety and also prevent dementia.

Can you make a living gardening? ›

If you've been successful in growing a bountiful harvest of fruits, vegetables, or herbs, you can tap into the farm-to-table trend and sell your produce locally. Farmers market attendees, those interested in farmers market supplies, and local grocery stores would be interested in sourcing fresh, organic produce.

Is gardening a life skill? ›

Gardening with children is very rewarding and gives youth an insight into where food comes from and how much energy it takes to grow it, as well as teaches them valuable life skills such as responsibility, problem solving, decision making, caring and team work.

Does gardening make people happier? ›

According to research, getting your hands in the soil and contact with a specific soil bacteria called Mycobacterium Vaccae triggers the release of serotonin in our brain. Serotonin is a natural anti-depressant and also strengthens the immune system. It is the Lack of serotonin in the brain causes depression.

How does gardening boost self esteem? ›

Hard work pays off with fruiting or flowering of a plant, bigger/more growth of a plant, and/or having your overall goal be achieved, thus increasing self-esteem. This is especially true in younger people or first-time hobbyists. The sense of achievement and learning new skills helps their self-esteem increase.

Why is gardening meaningful? ›

It's been shown to lighten mood and lower levels of stress and anxiety. It's very gratifying to plant, tend, harvest and share your own food. Routines provide structure to our day and are linked to improved mental health. Gardening routines, like watering and weeding, can create a soothing rhythm to ease stress.

How is gardening like life? ›

Tending to a garden is so much like tending to our inner-self and life. Sometimes we have to hibernate and take a bit of a break just like gardens do over the winter. When the spring arrives there is a narrow window of time where it is urgently necessary to tend to the weeds, replenish the dirt and plant new seeds.

Is gardening a creative skill? ›

In our gardens, we are able to express our creativity. Not just in the design of the gardens, the placement of plants, and the size and shape of flowerbeds. But also in the very act of creating. We are in the process of planting seeds (or small plants) and then joyfully watching them grow into bigger plants.

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