Summer Challenge #3: Plant a Garden

This week the challenge is to plant a garden, any garden. Think of ways to involve your child in creating a vegetable, flower, or even a fairy garden.

The following are just a few ways planning and creating a garden promotes overall development in a child:

Promotes Language Development

Gardening provides many opportunities to observe and discuss. You and your child can discuss the plants/flowers/fairy supplies that are needed and where these items will go in the garden. Once the items are home there will be plenty of opportunity to discuss size concepts, spatial concepts, color concepts… etc. It’s hard to plan a garden in silence!

Enhances the Ability to Plan and Organize

Planning a garden can take a lot of work. You have to observe the space in your yard and determine the plants that will work in the space, etc. Involving kids in this process helps increase their planning and problem solving skills.

All the Senses are Engaged

All the senses are engaged when gardening. Your child can touch and feel the dirt, plants, water, flowers, etc. He can see the colors and sizes of the plants. Hear the sound of the water hitting the plants or the crunch of a vegetable when biting into it. Smell the flower and freshness of the garden, and taste a vegetable pulled straight off the vine. Allowing all the senses to be involved helps kids understand and grasp the concept of gardening.

Encourages Healthy Eating

Eating healthy food is important for brain and body development but it can be hard at times to get kids to eat those fruits and veggies. By having them grow their own, children can see where their food comes from and will often have a sense of pride in eating what they have grown.

Gets the Body Moving

Working in the garden takes a lot of body movement. Scooping the dirt, placing the plants, and pouring the water all take coordination and strength.  As kids garden, they develop motor skills that will help them in the future.

Check-in each week this summer for adventure ideas in your community. My hope is that each and every adventure will be different and exciting. This year I have partnered with businesses in the community to put together an epic summer bucket giveaway at the end of the 10 weeks. The bucket includes ways to Say-n-Play both at home and in Columbus this summer. You will be entered into the drawing for the bucket each time you connect and share your weekly adventure experiences using the hashtag – #saynplaythesummeraway.