The best early years teacher is a garden

These days, we just don’t spend as much time outdoors.

Children are wired to be fascinated with nature, but it’s harder than ever for little ones to get out in green spaces.

It’s nobody’s fault, really. We could point to technology reliance, dense cities or the pandemic to explain why we’re not getting out as much.

But the good news is, you can reverse this trend. In your early education setting, one of the best ways to do this is by bringing your little ones out into the garden. Whether you're a veteran green thumb or just beginning with a humble patch of dirt, it's one of the most enriching outdoor activities you can give to children.

The simple fact is, a garden is a terrific teacher to have on your team. In this article, we’ll explore just why that is — and how you can get more gardening going in your own early education setting.

If you’re curious about which plants are best to grow with children, or why the little ones shouldn’t wear gardening gloves, you’ve come to the right place.

Ready? Let’s dig in.

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What are the benefits of gardening with children?

It’s not just that gardening feels wholesome: We’ve got decades of research that suggests digging about in the dirt really is a great developmental experience for young children.

Here’s how a bit of gardening helps children connect with some of our most important early learning goals:

• Gardening is an exciting sensory experience for little ones. The moist soil of the garden is a perfect place for children to explore new textures, smells and sensations. For toddlers, gardening gives a lot of the benefits we enjoy through messy play.
• Playing in the dirt does a young body good. The physical activity of digging and planting engages children’s whole body, and helps them sharpen their motor skills. Plus, a study from last year suggests that a bit of dirt helps boost children’s immune systems in big ways.
• When we grow plants, we’re more likely to eat them, too. If you’re a picky eater, carrots don’t seem so scary once you know where they come from. Getting to know your greens in the garden can help us set children off with a better relationship to food.
• There’s plenty of science learning in soil. It’s one thing to read about a beetle in a book. It’s another thing to play with the little guy you’ve just found in the dirt beneath your feet. When children play in the garden, they make a stronger real-life connection to the exciting organisms and natural processes in the world around them.
• Gardening teaches children to care for the earth. When children spend time playing in the garden, they grow up with a stronger sense of stewardship for the environment, and with a greater appreciation for nature and green spaces in their lives.

But it’s also important to mention that you don’t need a huge fancy plot to get these benefits. Something as simple as a window planter box or readymade indoor garden kits can bring green garden learning to wherever you are.

If you’re just getting started with gardening, the Royal Horticultural Society has plenty of resources to keep you going.

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Good plants to grow with little ones

Right, so you’ve got your planting box all sorted. But what goes in it?

When it comes to gardening with young children, it’s best to start with plants that are pretty hardy, such as fruit trees, so you don’t need a veteran’s green thumb to get rewarding results. Children don’t always have the patience for slow-sprouting seedlings, and it’s always more fun to have some flowers or veggies to celebrate at the end of the season.

Here are a few types of plants that are perfect for growing with children:

• Plants that offer a sensory experience: Common herbs like basil or rosemary add rich new scents to your garden — and children can taste the leaves, too. The soft, woolly leaves of Lambs’ ears plants are also an enticing sensory experience for young hands, too.
• Plants you can eat: Like we mentioned above, there’s a good bit of research to suggest that when children grow their own vegetables, it’s easier to get leafy greens on their dinner plates. Peas, lettuce and baby tomatoes are all perfect choices for your garden.
• Plants that attract butterflies: Nasturtium flowers or sunflowers are two examples of beautiful, easy-to-grow flowers that will bring butterflies over to your garden. In the spring and summer, it’s a great way to talk about how these little pollinators help your flowers and vegetables grow.
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Best tips for gardening with children

Here are a few gardening tips to help you get the best experience with children:

• Don’t fret about growing any record crops. Strictly speaking, toddlers aren’t expert gardeners. You can expect some overzealous watering, potatoes uprooted a bit too early, or some trampled petunias. That’s alright — it’s more about what they’re learning through this exploratory process.
• A bit of prep work sets children up for success. Marking off the boundaries of your vegetable beds, making walking paths with wood chips, or setting up wire cages around delicate seedlings will help communicate the structure of your garden to the children, and can help avoid a trampled plant or two along the way.
• Skip the gardening gloves. With bare hands, children are better able to enjoy the messiness of gardening, and to explore the texture and feel of the soil around them.
• Give children real-deal gardening tools, not toys. This is more empowering to children, and gives them a stronger sense of responsibility in your garden. It also means that the motor skills and muscle memories they learn in the garden stay relevant as they grow older.
• Treat worms and bugs as friends. The sight of one teacher freaking out over a spider or earthworm could put off a whole class of children from wanting to play in the garden. Instead, make sure the little ones understand these critters’ importance to growing healthy plants, and treat them as part of the exploratory experience.
• Let children engage with whatever excites them most. Maybe your little ones really love plucking weeds, or perhaps they’re happiest building a gnome village in the compost pile. Either way, they’re engaged in constructive, active play out in nature. Trying to make things too structured might drain some of the fun from your garden.