At a time when many teachers and parents are becoming more concerned about what schools can do to improve the well-being of their students, teaching gardening can offer all kinds of health benefits. This can include encouraging movement through digging, planting, watering, and weeding to help kids stay a little more active throughout the day, especially when school typically involves so much sedentary time.

However, the mental benefits of spending time outdoors and around greenery can be just as significant as spending time outdoors and around greenery, which can have a significant impact on stress, improving mood, and even improving concentration. The calming and restorative nature of the class’s gardening time can help students learn more effectively than being stuck in traditional classroom settings all the time.

Learning About The Environment

Whether you’re interweaving your gardening classes with lessons on biology or simply addressing the tough question of environmental education for different age ranges, gardening provides some hands-on demonstration that can take abstract concepts and make them much easier to engage with. You can help students learn more about ecosystems, soil health, plant life cycles, composting, and water conservation, directly showcasing those lessons by, for instance, having them build simple irrigation systems.

It’s a lot easier to talk about how weather affects growth, the helpful role of insects in plant growth, and how sustainable gardening practices can help protect the environment, not just for their plants, but for local wildlife as well. This can help foster a sense of responsibility towards nature at a young age.

Understanding Where Food Comes From

A lot of classes spend time talking about nutrition, in terms of not just healthy eating habits and the different food groups, but also how that food is made, as well. By giving students the opportunity to grow their own fruits and vegetables in the school garden, they can get a much better understanding of the production cycle of food and how it ends up on their plate.

It can also give them the opportunity to try out their own fresh produce, which can potentially increase their willingness to make healthier food choices. Lessons on planting, harvesting, and different types of crops can naturally link to discussions on a balanced diet and the benefits of fresh ingredients, as well.

Teaching Safe Gardening Tool Use

Introducing gardening to your lessons also gives you a great opportunity to teach the safe and responsible use of gardening tools. You should always be careful to cater your lessons appropriately to different age groups, as younger students can learn how to properly handle items like trowels, small spades, and watering cans, while other students can learn how to use equipment like a weed eater under careful supervision.

By demonstrating the correct techniques and teaching important lessons like the importance of being aware of your surroundings and others while you garden, you can teach the practical, safe skills that kids might not learn elsewhere, building their confidence and reinforcing their sense of personal responsibility. Imparting children with a growing sense of physical competence can improve their ability to safely interface with the world well beyond the garden.

Image Source - CC0 License

Developing Their Fine Motor Skills

Very much a related point to the notion of improving their physical competence and capabilities, gardening activities also help to strengthen fine motor skills, especially in younger children. Tasks such as planting seeds, gently transplanting seedlings, picking small weeds, and tying plant supports require precision and careful hand movements. These actions, when repeated, gently reinforced, and guided, can improve their hand-eye coordination and finger dexterity, which can also improve their abilities in writing, drawing, and using classroom tools. Tactile experiences like handling soil, seeds, and plants also help to improve a child’s sensory development.

Encouraging Social Skills And Teamwork

School gardens are typically very collaborative environments. Students typically work together towards shared goals, operating on group schedules, and handling tasks like planting and harvesting that require coordination with others. While a teacher should always be there to guide them in the right direction, allowing them to tackle these tasks together can help students practice teamwork, leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills.

They can learn about dividing tasks fairly, supporting one another, and even have the opportunity to resolve minor conflicts in a way that works to the benefit of everyone. It also gives students with different strengths the ability to contribute, growing their confidence, especially for those who are not as eager to participate in the traditional classroom setting.

Take A Break From The Classroom Environment

Boosting the engagement of your students is a conundrum that every teacher has to deal with. Sometimes, the answer lies not inside the classroom but outside of it. Giving your class the opportunity to get out into the fresh air, to try skills in a different environment, and providing education, but without the feeling of always being stuck in textbooks, can help students get a lot more actively involved in their lessons.

It can feel like a real break for them, even if education is still the main priority. Growing a garden and witnessing the results of a successful harvest can also help to boost the morale and pride of your students, which can carry over to increased motivation in the classroom, too.

Teaching gardening to your class shouldn’t just be considered a distraction or a treat for them to get them out of class. It has real developmental and well-being-based benefits that should make it a common practice.