Kids garden programs in schools can help families explore outdoors – you know I’m all about that! Growing plants at school offers great benefits to a classroom and those benefits can extend to the home garden as well.

In this post I’m happy to welcome guest blogger Devin Morrisey to talk about kids garden programs and their benefits.

Kids Garden Program Benefits

We’re often trying to get kids to spend more time outside. A great way to do that is to integrate education into outdoor time. Luckily, gardening hits all the marks: it’s educational, encourages independence, and allow kids to enjoy time outside.  But could it really be so easy? Actually, yes, because several schools have done it before.

Farm to School

With the rise of cultural movements like seed bombing and urban gardening and increasing awareness about organic or genetically modified foods, it’s no surprise that farm-to-table movements are happening in our schools. Developed in the late 1990s, formally authorized in 2004, and recently acknowledged by the White House as a significant strategy for obesity prevention, the National Farm to School Program’s goal is to bring local food sourcing and agriculture education into the schools.

Farm to School works to connect farmers with their local schools, increase student knowledge of locally-grown and seasonal produce, and establish school gardens. If there’s already an existing, effective national program for our schools, there’s no reason why parents can’t use these same strategies to help supplement their own child’s education.

Life Lessons in the Garden

In addition to a fun lesson, school gardening projects give students the power of knowing that they can grow their own food in the future. Here are seven ways gardens help kids learn.

• Students could learn about the water cycle or the historical importance of aquaculture in a hands-on way.
• Educational gardens can build engineering skills.
• Students use math and engineering skills as they design gardens; even if it looks like they’re just playing in the dirt.
• They learn biology through the various plants they grow and the insects those plants attract. 
• Maintaining a kids garden encourages critical thinking, spatial planning, and collaboration skills.
• Growing plants teaches hard work.

To top it all off, gardening builds a healthy relationship with food.  By growing their own food, kids can enjoy the fruits of their labor, but it also fosters an appreciate for natural produce. They see and feel the work that goes into creating real, fresh food.  

Planting the Seed

You can start connecting your child with growing plants at a young age. Look at some of these educational garden projects from Concordia University in Portland for ideas.  

Young children, they might not be independent enough to handle a tomato plant by themselves, but they can probably help with a little eggshell garden.

Children of all ages can learn how things grow by trying a seed jar or by growing a vegetable from itself.

Not only will you be teaching your kid some valuable skills, but you’ll also be showing them how to live a more eco-conscious life. This experience could even open up the floor for some larger conversations about our role in environmental sustainability. 

Combining the benefits  of gardening with hands-on education will really pay off for students. And who knows — you might even get a lovely bowl of strawberries or fresh garden greens out of it.

Bloom! The Power of Plants

For older kids and teenagers looking to connect to plants more, and evenpossibly working in the green industry someday, check out wearebloom.org.

This movement created by the Seed Your Future organization encourages people to improve the world through the power of plants. Designed for teens, you can take the Bloom quiz to find your plant super power.

 

You can hear a FREE exclusive interview about Bloom! with Seed Your Future executive director Susan Yoder on the Mountain Mom and Tots Patreon page.

No matter the age, your kids can benefit from a garden program. Try planting some seeds today and help your family get a little more eco-friendly.

Devin is a rugby coach, avid hiker, and teller of many dad jokes.  He moves throughout the Pacific Northwest, but if you happen to catch him in his natural habitat, he’s probably writing. You can find him on twitter at @devmorrissey.