Dig for literacy ... and numeracy

If you are looking for something relaxing for your children to enjoy while they are boosting their learning, why not get dug into gardening?
A study undertaken by the Royal Horticultural Society in the United Kingdom has discovered that children in schools that encouraged gardening became more resilient and confident and lived healthier lives.

And gardening can improve literacy and numeracy. Think of all those sums you can do counting out seeds and working out distances between seedlings, plus reading gardening books and seed packets exposes you to all kinds of new words. It also gives parents and children something special to share that puts them in touch with the natural world and the environment and gives lots of opportunity for precious conversation and connection in busy lives.

So if gardening gives a boost to all these hard and soft skills, what are you waiting for? Whether you have a window box, some patio tubs or a full back yard, take the lessons learned by schools and plant them in your own family life.

The RHS study of 1,300 teachers and 10 schools suggests that children learn valuable skills while they are taking care of plants - it makes them feel happy and it boosts their development. Infact the RHS believes the study has shown that school gardening is so important it should be on the school time table, rather than an extra-curricular activity.

Researchers at the National Foundation for Educational Research in the UK who carried out the study for the RHS found teachers who used gardening as part of learning said it helped improve children's readiness to learn. It also encouraged pupils to become more active in solving problems, as well as learning vital jobs skills such as presentation skills, communication and team work, and fuelled their entrepreneurial spirit.

Dr Simon Thornton Wood, Director of Science and Learning at the Royal Horticultural Society,  said : "The changeable nature of gardening projects - where anything from the weather to plant disease can affect the outcome - forced children to become more flexible and better able to think on their feet and solve problems.

“Schools which integrate gardens into the curriculum are developing children who are much more responsive to the challenges of adult life.”

Gillian Pugh, Chair of the National Children’s Bureau and The Cambridge Primary Review, says: “Not only does gardening provide opportunities for increasing scientific knowledge and understanding, and improving literacy, numeracy and oracy, but this report shows that it also improves pupils’ confidence, resilience and self-esteem.”

The researchers found out many interesting things from the study such the fact that exposing small children to insects helped them to overcome their fears of creepy crawlies and waiting for crops to grow taught children patience. Gardening also helped teach about healthy living and healthy eating, with children more willing to try new vegetables if they had grown their own.

So get down to the garden centre and get stuck in. There is finally a good reason for the kids getting their hands dirty.

You can read the full report on the RHS website

http://www.rhs.org.uk/News/School-gardening-boosts-child-development

The site has lots of gardening activities for families and children including.... how to make a pond in the kitchen that you can eat!