Kids in the Garden

Young children are always fascinated by the jobs that grownups do in the garden. Jobs like raking up leaves, digging the soil, sewing seeds, harvesting vegetables, and aerating a smelly compost heap always bring children out into the garden.

But what about giving them true responsibility for a patch of ground? Responsibility for soil improvement, garden design, the selection of plants, and garden maintenance? The Phoenix was talking to an ex-Canberra resident the other day who told the story of her three children each being given a spot in the garden and complete responsibility for what they grew there. One used his plot to grew herbs, another used her plot to grew flowers and shrubs, and the youngest used his plot as Mount Panorama for matchbox cars! Interestingly, the children who grew plants all went on to have lovely gardens as adults, so perhaps there is something to be said for starting them early.

To help you gather information about teaching your children how to garden, we’ve found some websites of interest.

The website, “Teacher Vision” is designed for teachers, but is available for all and has wonderful resources such as worksheets and activities to teach children about soil, fruits, vegetables, and gardening. You can access the site by going to: http://www.teachervision.com/gardening

Sustainable Gardening Australia has general advice for parents about how to introduce your child to gardening: https://www.sgaonline.org.au/growing-little-learners-the-benefits-of-gardening-with-children/

Finally, the following WikiHow site has step-by-step advice about children and gardening, including a list of plants that grow quickly to satisfy their curiosity: https://www.wikihow.com/Teach-Kids-to-Garden

• Topics:

• Gardening