There are numerous activities that the whole family can do together but none are more exhilarating than outdoors shenanigans. Walks in the park or playing throw and catch together are activities that children look most forward to. You can use this love for open space to teach your kids valuable life lessons from the comfort of your garden. The backyard can be transformed into a laboratory in the open that will serve both as a classroom and a playground for children.
As a parent, you will use planting trees together and other activities listed here to bond with your loved ones. They look up to you and carefully listen to your instruction and then you can help them with planting a tree or painting a flower pot. Kids will learn how food is grown and the journey it takes from the ground outside to the dining table.
Active bonding
When it comes to the relationship you have with your children, it should be strengthened in a proactive way. This means that watching TV together for hours on end does not count as bonding since neither of you assumes an active role. On the other side, it is hard to find sports that both the child and the parent or both parents like, especially in the case of teenagers who would be ashamed if someone saw them play tennis with their mom or dad. Gardening is ideal in the sense that is a leisure activity that involves just the right of amount of energy needed to complete it. Digging a hole together, planting herbs, and watching them grow is ideal for strengthening child-parent relationships.
Planning together
Before you pick up the rake or a trowel, you need to make a plan for how the garden is going to look like. This segment might appear to be an adults-only activity but you should include your kid in it and tap into his or her imagination. Ask them what they would like to see in the garden: what types of plants, what will be the color of the pathways etc. Once everything is in place, they will feel proud that they have envisioned something and those dreams became a reality.
Furthermore, they will be thankful to you since you were helping them all the way and now they are sure that they can rely on you in any situation. This becomes especially important when they grow up and find themselves in a difficult life situation. Instinctively, they will come to you for advice because they remember your guidance was crucial when they were small.
Perfection is hard to achieve
An important lesson in gardening coincides with an important lesson in life: things don’t always work out as we planned. Once a person hits an obstacle, it is important that they are prepared for all eventualities and that they can work around the problem. If a plant dies soon after you plant it together, tell your son or daughter not to be sad but to plant another one instead. Never giving up is an important lesson. They might want to paint the picket fence red all the way but you don’t have enough paint. Let them hold the brush and paint themselves but persuade them to save the paint by coloring every second picket. This way, they will learn to economize and value what they have.
Practical skills
The smaller the children, the better the learners, especially when it comes to mechanical skills. Use the lessons in gardening to teach them to use as many tools as possible. They can cut decorations for pots with scissors or they can shorten a hose in half with a children’s knife. Of course, in the beginning, you are going to supervise and assist them heavily, while after a few times they can try on their own these activities that were once forbidden for them. They might be too young to use a shovel, for instance, but still, do your best to show them every garden tool, so they get to know each and every tool. Even searching for garden tools online on your PC counts as a skill, as it is hard to navigate the shopping cyberspace nowadays.
A regular activity
Most parents get enthusiastic about gardening and they spend an entire Sunday afternoon in the garden. After that, they make half a year break, and they repeat the same gardening spree. This is the worst possible thing that you can do as consistency is a valuable lesson that your children should learn. Dedicate a couple of minutes each day for the garden, even it only means sending your kid outside to add organic waste from the kitchen to backyard compost. A half an hour break in the garden after school is much healthier for the child than napping on the couch.
Where does food come from?
In the world where they can buy ready-made meals everywhere, children find it hard to learn and appreciate the entire food production process. By working around the garden, they will know that it all starts from a small seed that grows over time to be harvested. He or she will watch as you prepare food from the garden and create their favorite dishes, like pizza or ice-cream. If you live in the countryside, then you can even show them how to milk a cow and how that milk is beaten into an ingredient that goes into their favorite chocolate-flavored ice-cream.
A garden close by
In order for the garden project to succeed, the ideal precondition is, quite obviously, that you own a garden or a backyard. This should be adjacent to your house so you can access it from the kitchen, for instance. If you don’t own a garden, then things get a bit more complicated but there is no need to abandon gardening. There are many community lots with gardens that are open to the public or you can go to your grandparents’ or parents’ house in the suburbs.
Finally, don’t forget to enjoy gardening with your children. They will look forward to spending every minute by your side in the garden, so you do need to be full of positive energy as well.
What are your thoughts? Please share in the comments below. I really would love to know.
Until next time, shine amongst the stars!
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