Whether your residence has a patio, terrace or balcony, home gardening might be a great project to do with your kids, especially under current circumstances due to COVID-19 pandemic. Cultivating food plants to gather vegetables or fruits at your place, even at small scale, might be the pastime your kids need as a break from school routines or electronic and digital devices, or as an antidote to boredom or lethargy. Besides being a distraction, creating a home garden and nurturing plants may bring additional benefits that are valuable for children during their journey as kids and as human beings per se. As you read the following list, you will find out why.

Home Gardening’s Extra Meaningful Assets for Kids:

1) Triggers eco-learning through curiosity

Showing your kids the materials needed for the new gardening tasks (e.g.: seeds to plant, soil, seed tray) and images of the expected particular crops may induce them to wonder about how tiny seeds can grow into plants and, especially, produce vegetables and fruits. Don't be surprised if they are fascinated and ask questions about that process. Let their search for answers lead the way towards eco-learning.

2) Provokes discovering or learning more about natural food

Letting your kids choose the food plants to cultivate may raise an interest in specific fruits or vegetables. Of course, you should first inform them of the plants suitable to be grown at your place, considering climate, space availability for the garden, care instructions, and any food allergies in the family, among other factors. Showing images so that children can see colors and shapes of these plants may incite them to discover or learn more about particular plants. This process can help them pick the food they wish to be grown whether to witness its development or taste it. Parents can also take advantage of their kids’ interest to teach them about nutrients in natural food that caught their attention, and the general benefits of eating healthy food from nature.

3) Allows learning valuable life lessons in a practical manner

Even though some food plants may be easier to cultivate than others, a home garden requires proper maintenance. Looking after plants during their development process, as applicable, may be one of the key factors for a good produce. While children perform adequate garden tasks and see plants’ growth by stages as well as the fruits of their labor, they can recognize the advantages of taking care of something and being responsible. Besides acquiring knowledge about gardening, kids may end up realizing that hard work and effort may lead to great results―a valuable life lesson.

Also, gardening generally requires practice. While children learn through trial and error appropriate cultivation techniques, they may understand the importance of perseverance, another life lesson.

4) Facilitates bonding with nature

Since keeping a home garden entails periodic attention, it lets kids come into close contact with nature on a regular basis. As a result, they can frequently connect with nature while at their residence.

5) Serves as a relaxation method

The magic of nature may help to chill out and relieve stress. As home gardening involves connecting with nature, focusing on tasks and nurturing plants, it may result in a creative way for kids to take a break from school routines and loosen up.

As your kids and you engage in the adventure of keeping a home garden, nature and you can guide them on a path of worthwhile experiences.