Our children continue to thoroughly enjoy their time in the garden. We have recently established four beds in our front yard and our children were keen to put their hands up to take part in a planting experience. We planted potatoes, tomatoes, spinach and parsley. Our children could manage to put their on their gloves, follow directions from the educator and were helpful to one another in the group – this was a great opportunity to see our children demonstrate cooperative and inclusive ways of participating in this planting activity – Outcome 2 Community

Children can learn new skills, have fun, play 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.

Children learn from growing things

People of all ages can enjoy gardening, but children in particular will have lots of fun and gain special benefits. Gardening is educational and develops new skills including:

• Responsibility – from caring for plants
• Understanding – as they learn about cause and effect (for example, plants die without 
water, weeds compete with plants)
• Self-confidence – from achieving their goals and enjoying the food they have grown
• Love of nature – a chance to learn about the outdoor environment in a safe and pleasant 
place
• Reasoning and discovery – learning about the science of plants, animals, weather, the environment, 
nutrition and simple construction
• Physical activity – doing something fun and productive
• Cooperation – including shared play activity and teamwork
• Creativity – finding new and exciting ways to grow food
• Nutrition – learning about where fresh food comes from.