How Does Gardening Help Children Learn?
Guardian Childcare & Education Centres are teaching children about nature and gardening – and watching them thrive.
Observation and research has shown that there are outstanding educational benefits for children when involved in gardening activities. Children can learn new skills, have fun, socialise and develop self-confidence by spending time in the garden tending plants and growing their own food. Most children enjoy being outdoors and love digging in the soil, getting dirty, creating things and watching plants grow.
Guardian Centres have embraced this concept by creating unique gardening spaces at a number of their facilities including Guardian Maroubra East. Here, children are heavily involved in the nurturing of their vegetable patches and are also able to use the freshly picked produce to create meals. They even have their own worm farms!
“Our veggie garden has really flourished, the children have been very excited to pick and wash their own juicy tomatoes,” says their Centre Manager. “The children were also able to ‘hand-pick vegetables that were key ingredients for a yummy MasterChef inspired Centre feast.”
Top Benefits for Children Who Garden
People of all ages can enjoy gardening, children in particular have lots of fun and gain special benefits. Gardening is educational and develops new skills including:
- Responsibility: Derived from the need to care for plants and vegetables
- Self-confidence: Developed through achieving their goals and enjoying the food they have grown
- Understanding: Conceptualise the process of cause and effect (for example, plants and vegetables die without water, weeds compete with plants)
- Reasoning and Discovery: Learning about the science of plants, animals, weather, the environment, nutrition and simple construction
- Physical activity: Participating in an activity that is both fun and productive
- Exploring texture: Gaining insight on density, weight, malleability, permeability etc.
- Love of nature: An ideal opportunity to learn about the outdoor environment in a safe and pleasant place
- Cooperation: Including shared play activity and teamwork
- Creativity: Finding new and exciting ways to grow and use food
- Nutrition: Learning about where fresh food comes from and the importance of healthy eating
Guardian Maroubra East is located at 339 Maroubra Road in Maroubra, Sydney. It is open Monday – Friday 7.30am-6.00pm.
Complementing the famous vegetable garden is their ‘outdoor wonderland’, offering a unique spacious outdoor area featuring mud pit, sand pits, camping area equipped with fire and logs, not to mention dinosaur bones and more.
The team of educators at Maroubra East are as professional as they are passionate. They enjoy creating strong bonds with families, who trust that their child is in safe and capable hands. Communication is paramount; the team make sure their families are regularly informed about their child’s learning, progress, interests and wellbeing.
To book a tour of Guardian Maroubra East, please head here.
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